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Cosby’s fall from grace is complete: Disgraced comic STUMBLES as he is led away to jail in handcuffs wearing a vest and braces as he starts his three to ten year sentence for drugging and assaulting women
- Bill Cosby, 81, was sentenced on Tuesday to three to 10 years in state prison
- Cosby, who must serve minimum of three years before becoming eligible for parole, was also fined $25,000 and ordered to pay prosecution costs
- He will appear on a sex-offender registry after Judge Steven O'Neill earlier declared he is a 'sexually violent predator'
- Cosby's sentencing comes five months after he was convicted for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his Philadelphia home in 2004
- Prosecutors were seeking a sentence of five to 10 years in prison but his lawyers asked for house arrest, saying he is too old to do time in prison
- His wife of 54 years, Camille, was not in court during the sentencing
- Cosby was taken to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility outside Philadelphia where he will spend the first few days of his prison sentence
- He will then be relocated to SCI Phoenix, a new state prison outside Philadelphia
- Cosby's spokesman Andrew Wyatt called the trial the most racist and sexist trial in the history of the country
- Wyatt added: 'Mr Cosby knows that God is watching over him. He knows that these are lies. They persecuted Jesus and look what happened'
Bill Cosby, 81, was booked into the Montgomery County Correctional Facility outside Philadelphia on Tuesday afternoon after being sentenced to three to 10 years
Bill Cosby stumbled as he was escorted to Montgomery County Correctional Facility outside Philadelphia on Tuesday afternoon to begin his three to 10 year sentence.
Two officers assisted the comic, who was once known as America's Dad, as he emerged from the facility looking unsteady in a vest and braces, clutching his shirt.
Earlier Tuesday, Judge Steven O'Neill handed down Cosby's sentence for drugging and molesting a woman more than a decade ago as the 81-year-old comedian sat back in his chair with his head on the headrest.
Cosby removed his watch, tie and jacket in the courtroom before being escorted out in handcuffs while carrying his walking stick.
'This was a serious crime. It is time for justice. Mr Cosby, this has all circled back to you. The time has come,' O'Neill said in sentencing him. 'No one is above the law, and no one should be treated differently.'
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Cosby is escorted to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility Tuesday following his sentencing to three-to-10-year prison sentence for sexual assault
Cosby is steadied by two cops as he takes a tumble - he will spend the first few days of his prison sentence at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility
COSBY IN HANDCUFFS: Bill Cosby left the Montgomery County Correctional Facility where he was processed after being sentenced to 3 to 10 years behind bars. He is now being transported to SCI Phoenix state prison.
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The punishment came at the end of a two-day hearing at which the judge also declared Cosby a 'sexually violent predator'.
The classification means that Cosby must undergo lifetime counseling and report quarterly to authorities. His name will also appear on a sex-offender registry sent to neighbors, schools and victims.
Cosby was denied bail, fined $25,000 and ordered to pay prosecution costs, which are expected to be more than $44,000.
He declined the opportunity to address the court during his sentencing and sat smiling, laughing and chatting with his defense team while waiting for the judge's decision.
His wife of 54 years, Camille, was not in court during the sentencing.
Bill Cosby was sentenced to three to 10 years in state prison on Tuesday for drugging and molesting a woman in Philadelphia in 2004. He was handcuffed and escorted from the courtroom carrying his walking stick
The comic once known as America's Dad was escorted from the courtroom in handcuffs and will be heading straight to prison
Cosby's punishment came at the end of a two-day hearing at which the judge also declared Cosby a 'sexually violent predator'
Cosby was escorted from the courthouse and into a dark SUV before being taken to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility outside Philadelphia where he will spend the first few days of his prison sentence.
He will then be taken to SCI Phoenix, a new state prison outside Philadelphia, where staff will assess his physical, medical and security needs.
Cosby could end up in a long-term medical care unit. He must serve the minimum of three years before becoming eligible for parole.
Prosecutors were seeking a sentence of five to 10 years in prison for the comic. His lawyers had asked for house arrest saying Cosby, who is legally blind, is too old and helpless to do time in prison.
The judge ruled that Cosby will not be entitled to bail when he appeals the conviction, which his attorneys have already vowed to do. O'Neill said Cosby 'could quite possibly be a danger to the community'.
This was a serious crime. It is time for justice. Mr Cosby, this has all circled back to you. The time has come.
Judge Steven O'Neill
He was sentenced five months after being convicted in the first celebrity trial of the #MeToo era and all but completed the dizzying, late-in-life fall from grace for the comedian, TV star and breaker of racial barriers.
Cosby's lawyers had fought the 'sexually violent predator' designation, arguing that Pennsylvania's sex-offender law remains unconstitutional and that he is no threat to the public at his age. But the judge said prosecutors had met their burden of proof by 'clear and convincing' evidence.
The once-beloved entertainer was convicted of violating Temple University women's basketball administrator Andrea Constand at his estate near Philadelphia in 2004.
Constand smiled broadly upon hearing the punishment and was hugged by others in the courtroom.
Cosby's spokesman Andrew Wyatt said immediately after the sentencing, calling it the most racist and sexist trial in the history of the United States.
'Mr Cosby knows that God is watching over him. He knows that these are lies. They persecuted Jesus and look what happened,' he said.
'I'm not saying Mr Cosby is Jesus, but we know what this country has done to black men for centuries. So Mr Cosby is doing fine. He's holding up well and everybody who wants to say anything negative, you're a joke as well.'
Victim Andrea Constand emerged from the courtroom smiling on Tuesday after Cosby was jailed for drugging and molesting her at his Philadelphia home in 2004
Andrea Constand embraced Janice Dickinson, a woman who has also accused Cosby of assault, in the hallways of the court following his sentencing
Cosby's spokesman Andrew Wyatt said immediately after the sentencing, calling it the most racist and sexist trial in the history of the United States
Cosby was taken to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility (above) outside Philadelphia where he will spend the first few days of his prison sentence
Cosby was escorted from the courthouse in police custody in the rain on Tuesday afternoon
She said in a statement submitted to the court and released on Tuesday that she has had to cope with years of anxiety and self-doubt that have left her 'stuck in a holding pattern'.
She said her training as a professional basketball player had led her to think she could handle anything, but 'life as I knew it' ended on the night that Cosby knocked her out with pills and violated her. Constand said she now lives alone with her two dogs and has trouble trusting people.
'When the sexual assault happened, I was a young woman brimming with confidence and looking forward to a future bright with possibilities,' she wrote in her five-page statement.
'Now, almost 15 years later, I'm a middle-aged woman who's been stuck in a holding pattern for most of her adult life, unable to heal fully or to move forward.'
In the years since Constand first went to police in 2005, more than 60 women have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct, though none of those claims have led to criminal charges.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said Cosby had been 'unmasked' as a predator now that he had been convicted.
He said at a news conference after the sentencing that Cosby used his fame and fortune to 'hide his true self and hide his crimes' and intimidated his victims into keeping them silent for decades.
'For decades, the defendant has been able to hide his true self and hide his crimes using his fame and fortune. He's hidden behind a character created, Dr Cliff Huxtable,' Steele said, referring to Cosby's best-known role.
'Now, finally, Bill Cosby has been unmasked, and we have seen the real man as he is headed off to prison.'
Constand stood at Steele's side but shook her head to say she had no comment.
Former model Janice Dickinson, who was among the 60 or so women who have come forward to accuse Cosby of drugging and violating them over the past five decades, looked at him in the courtroom and said: 'Here's the last laugh, pal.'
Another accuser in the courtroom, Lili Bernard, said: 'There is solace, absolutely. It is his fame and his fortune and his phony philanthropy that has allowed him to get away with impunity. Maybe this will send a message to other powerful perpetrators that they will be caught and punished.'
Judge Steven O'Neill (above prior to the sentencing) declared on Tuesday that Cosby is a 'sexually violent predator'
The former TV star was pictured smiling when he got out of his car on Tuesday when he arrived at his sentencing
Former model Janice Dickinson, who was among the 60 or so women who have come forward to accuse Cosby of drugging and violating, raised her fist in the air as she left the courtroom on Tuesday
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said Cosby had been 'unmasked' as a predator now that he had been convicted. He is pictured at a news conference with chief accuser Andrea Constant
Steele said at a news conference after the sentencing that Cosby used his fame and fortune to 'hide his true self and hide his crimes'
Andrea Constand attended the press conference with Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele after Cosby's sentencing but didn't address the media
The judge ruled on Cosby's sex-offender status after a defense psychologist, Timothy Foley, testified that the chances of the comedian committing another sex offense are 'extraordinarily low' because he is old, legally blind and needs help getting around.
A psychologist for the state, Kristen Dudley, testified on Monday that Cosby appears to have a mental disorder that gives him an uncontrollable urge to have non-consensual sex with young women.
Cosby was smiling and joking with his spokesman and sheriff's deputies as he settled into the courtroom Tuesday morning.
On day one of the sentencing, the comic laughed at times as the psychologist on the stand for the state portrayed him as a sexual predator with signs of a mental disorder.
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Prior to sentencing, defense lawyer Joseph Green Jr. had urged the judge to ignore the protests and activism surrounding the case and send Cosby home on house arrest.
'The suggestion that Mr Cosby is dangerous is not supported by anything other than the frenzy,' Green said as demonstrators gathered outside the courthouse.
After testifying for several hours at two trials, the first of which ended in a hung jury, Constand spoke in court Monday for just two minutes.
'The jury heard me. Mr Cosby heard me. Now all I am asking for is justice as the court sees fit,' said Andrea Constand, who submitted a much longer victim-impact statement that wasn't read in court.
ANDREA CONSTAND's IMPACT STATEMENT: Bill Cosby 'robbed me'
Victim impact statement by Andrea Constand as submitted in writing to the court at Cosby's sentencing on Tuesday:
To truly understand the impact that sexual assault has had on my life, you have to understand the person that I was before it happened.
At the time of the assault, I was 30 years old, and a fit, confident athlete. I was strong, and skilled, with great reflexes, agility and speed. When I graduated from high school in Toronto, I was one of the top three female high school basketball players in Canada. Dozens of American colleges lined up to offer me basketball scholarships, and I chose the University of Arizona.
For four years, I was a shooting guard on the women's basketball team, scoring up to 30 points a game. It was an amazing time in my life, and I learned a lot, developed a circle of really good friends, many of them teammates, and travelled around the U.S. to compete.
The only downside was that I missed my family and developed severe homesickness. When it started to affect my studies and my training, my Dad came up with the idea to move his own father and mother to Tucson.
My grandparents were in their late 60s when they gamely agreed to move more than 2,000 miles to help me adjust to life away from home. They were retired after selling their Toronto restaurant business, and figured the warm, dry climate would suit them anyway. I had always enjoyed a special relationship with my grandparents. Not only had I grown up in their home, but I spoke Greek before I spoke English. They got an apartment close to mine, and I was there most days, talking and laughing over my favorite home-cooked meals. The homesickness quickly evaporated.
After I graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in Communications, I signed a two-year contract to play professional basketball for Italy. Going pro took my athletic training to a whole new level. Once again, I thrived in the team atmosphere, and enjoyed travelling Europe although we rarely saw more than the basketball venues and the hotel rooms where we slept.
When my contract ended, my former coach from the University of Arizona encouraged me to apply for a job as Director of Operations for the women's basketball team at Temple University in Philadelphia. It was a busy, challenging position that required me to manage a lot of logistical details so that others could focus on training the team for competition. I also made all the travel arrangements and went to tournaments with the team and support staff.
It was a great job but after a few years, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in the healing arts, my other passion. I also wanted to work closer to home, where I would be reunited with my large, extended family, and many friends.
I knew who I was and I liked who I was. I was at the top of my game, certain that the groundwork provided by my education and athletic training would stand me in good stead whatever challenges lay ahead.
How wrong I was. In fact, nothing could have prepared me for an evening of January 2004, when life as I knew it came to an abrupt halt.
I had just given my two-month notice at Temple when the man I had come to know as a mentor and friend drugged and sexually assaulted me. Instead of being able to run, jump and pretty much do anything I wanted physically, during the assault I was paralyzed and completely helpless. I could not move my arms or legs. I couldn't speak or even remain conscious. I was completely vulnerable, and powerless to protect myself.
After the assault, I wasn't sure what had actually happened but the pain spoke volumes. The shame was overwhelming. Self-doubt and confusion kept me from turning to my family or friends as I normally did. I felt completely alone, unable to trust anyone, including myself.
I made it through the next few weeks by focusing on work. The women's basketball team was in the middle of the Atlantic 10 tournament and was travelling a lot. It was an extremely busy time for me, and the distraction helped take my mind off what had happened.
When the team wasn't on the road, however, I was in the basketball office at Temple, and was required to interact with Mr. Cosby, who was on the Board of Trustees. The sound of his voice over the phone felt like a knife going through my guts. The sight of the man who drugged and sexually assaulted me coming into the basketball office filled me with dread. I did everything my job required of me but kept my head down, counting the days until I could return to Canada. I trusted that once I left, things would get back to normal.
Instead, the pain and anguish came with me. At my parent's house, where I was staying until I got settled, I couldn't talk, eat, sleep or socialize. Instead of feeling less alone because I was back home with my family, I felt more isolated than ever. Instead of my legendary big appetite and 'hollow leg' - a running joke in my family - I picked at my food, looking more like a scarecrow with each passing week. I was always a sound sleeper but now I couldn't sleep for more than two or three hours. I felt exhausted all the time.
I used the demands of my new courses to opt out of family gatherings and events, and to avoid going out with friends. As far as anyone could tell, I was pre-occupied with my studies. But the terrible truth about what had happened to me - at the hands of a man my family and friends admired and respected - was swirling around inside me.
Then the nightmares started. I dreamed that another woman was being assaulted right in front of me and it was all my fault. In the dream, I was consumed with guilt, and pretty soon, that agonizing feeling spilled over into my waking hours too. I became more and more anxious that what had happened to me was going to happen to someone else. I grew terrified that it might already be too late, that the sexual assaults were continuing because I didn't speak out.
Then one morning I called my mother on the telephone to tell her what had happened to me. She had heard me cry out in my sleep. She wouldn't let me put her off, and insisted that I tell her what was wrong. She wouldn't settle for anything less than a complete and truthful explanation.
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Reporting the assault to the Durham Regional police in Toronto only intensified the fear and pain, making me feel more vulnerable and ashamed than ever. When the Montgomery County District Attorney outside Philadelphia decided not to prosecute for lack of evidence, we were left with no sense of validation or justice. After we launched civil claims, the response from Mr. Cosby's legal team was swift and furious. It was meant to frighten and intimidate and it worked.
The psychological, emotional and financial bullying included a slander campaign in the media that left my entire family reeling in shock and disbelief. Instead of being praised as a straight-shooter, I was called a gold-digger, a con artist, and a pathological liar. My hard-working middle-class parents were accused of trying to get money from a rich and famous man.
At the deposition during the civil trial, I had to relive every moment of the sexual assault in horrifying detail in front of Mr. Cosby and his lawyers. I felt traumatized all over again and was often in tears. I had to watch Cosby make jokes and attempt to degrade and diminish me, while his lawyers belittled and sneered at me. It deepened my sense of shame and helplessness, and at the end of each day, I left emotionally drained and exhausted.
When the case closed with a settlement, sealed testimony and a nondisclosure agreement, I thought that finally - finally - I could get on with my life, that this awful chapter in my life was over at last. These exact same feelings followed me throughout both criminal trials. The attacks on my character continued, spilling over outside the courtroom steps attempting to discredit me, and cast me in false light. These character assassinations have caused me to suffer insurmountable stress and anxiety, which I still experience today.
I still didn't know that my sexual assault was just the tip of the iceberg.
Now, more than 60 other women have self-identified as sexual assault victims of Bill Cosby. We may never know the full extent of his double life as a sexual predator but his decades-long reign of terror as a serial rapist is over.
I have often asked myself why the burden of being the sole witness in two criminal trials had to fall to me. The pressure was -enormous. I knew that how my testimony was perceived - that how I was perceived - would have an impact on every member of the jury and on the future mental and emotional well-being of every sexual assault victim who came before me. But I had to testify. It was the right thing to do, and I wanted to do the right thing, even if it was the most difficult thing I've ever done. When the first trial ended in a mistrial, I didn't hesitate to step up again.
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I know now that I am one of the lucky ones. But still, when the sexual assault happened, I was a young woman brimming with confidence and looking forward to a future bright with possibilities. Now, almost 15 years later, I'm a middle-aged woman who's been stuck in a holding pattern for most of her adult life, unable to heal fully or to move forward.
Bill Cosby took my beautiful, healthy young spirit and crushed it. He robbed me of my health and vitality, my open nature, and my trust in myself and others.
I've never married and I have no partner. I live alone. My dogs are my constant companions, and the members of my immediate family are my closest friends.
My life revolves around my work as a therapeutic massage practitioner. Many of my clients need help reducing the effects of accumulated stress. But I've also trained in medical massage at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, and often help cancer patients manage the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation. I help many others too - people with Parkinson's, arthritis, diabetes, and so on. Some of my clients are in their 90s. I help them cope with the ravages of old age, reducing stiffness, aches and pains.
I like my work. I like knowing that I can help relieve pain and suffering in others. I know that it helps heal me too.
I no longer play basketball but I try to stay fit. Mostly, I practice yoga and meditation, and when the weather is warm, I like to pedal my bike up long steep hills.
It all feels like a step in the right direction: away from a very dark and lonely place, toward the person I was before all this happened.
Instead of looking back, I am looking forward to looking forward. I want to get to the place where the person I was meant to be gets a second chance.
I know that I still have room to grow.
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I would like to acknowledge some of the people who have helped me get here today. I will always be grateful for their counsel, friendship and support.
First of all, my lawyers Dolores Troiani and Bebe Kivitz. These two smart, courageous women have been there for me since the beginning. Without them, I would never have been able to navigate this legal and emotional minefield.
I will also be eternally grateful to Kevin Steele, the District Attorney of Montgomery County, who had the guts to believe in me, in the truth, and for trusting that the justice system could get things right- even if the process had to be repeated.
I also want to thank Mr. Steele's incredible team of professionals. including assistant district attorneys Kristen Feden and Stewart Ryan, detectives Richard Schaffer, Mike Shade, Harry Hall, Jim Reape, Erin Slight, Kiersten McDonald, victims services, and many others, for their passion for justice, their skill, and their hard work and perseverance despite the odds.
Thank you to the jurors for their civic duty and great sacrifices.
Thank you to all of the friends, old and new, who have stood by me. You know who you are, and each and every one of you has made a huge difference. Please know that.
Last but not least, I want to thank my incredible family: my mother, Gianna, and my father, Andrew, my sister Diana, her husband Stuart, and their beautiful daughters - my nieces Andrea and Melanie. Thank you for proving over and over again that if there's one thing in life you can always count on, it's family.
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