On Monday, Sept. 24, Bill Cosby heard testimony from prosecution experts during the first day of a hearing to determine his prison sentence. Led by Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, District Attorney Kevin Steele, prosecutors said Cosby, 81, who was convicted on three counts of aggravated indecent assault in April, should spend the rest of his life behind bars and be branded as a sex offender.
Steele said Cosby should be sentenced to five to 10 years in prison, fined $25,000 and ordered to pay the cost of his own prosecution.
The sentencing phase follows Cosby’s conviction of charges stemming from a 2004 incident in which Andrea Constand claimed that he sexually assaulted her while at his home. Constand said that Cosby gave her pills that made her drowsy. At some point, Constand said Cosby grabbed her breasts and made her perform a sexual act on him. Cosby said the encounter was consensual.
The case came down to “he said, she said” as the jury searched for a legal definition of consent. However, it likely boiled down to the five other women who testified against Cosby during his trial.
During the testimony on Monday, Sept. 24, prosecutors called psychologist Kristen Dudley to testify on behalf of Pennsylvania’s Sexual Offenders Assessment Board. Dudley said that she believed that Cosby had a mental disorder that caused him to sexually assault women.
She said he used his “power and prestige” to meet women, drug them and sexually assault them for his “sexual gratification.” Dudley also said that Cosby met the criteria of a “sexually violent predator,” and he “could engage in predatory acts in the future.”
The attorneys who represent Cosby have said that they will appeal his prison sentence following the judge’s final decision.
More testimony is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, Sept. 25, when Cosby is expected to be sentenced.
