NORRISTOWN, Pa. — The Latest on Bill Cosby’s sentencing hearing (all times local):
10:15 a.m.
A judge is weighing whether to hold a hearing to determine if Bill Cosby is a sexually violent predator.
Cosby is in a suburban Philadelphia courtroom Monday for the start of his sentencing hearing. He was convicted in April of drugging and molesting a woman in 2004.
A state board has recommended that Cosby be classified a sexually violent predator, which would mandate community notification of his whereabouts and lifetime counselling. His lawyers are arguing the law is punitive and unconstitutional.
Judge Steven O’Neill is considering whether to hold a hearing on the matter.
___
9:05 a.m.
Bill Cosby’s chief accuser has arrived at a courthouse outside Philadelphia for a sentencing hearing for the 81-year-old entertainer convicted of sexually assaulting her.
Former Temple University women’s basketball administrator Andrea Constand testified that Cosby knocked her out with pills, then molested her during an encounter at his home in 2004. A jury convicted Cosby of three felony counts. He faces up to 30 years in prison, though state guidelines suggest a sentence of one to four years.
Constand tweeted a Bible verse earlier Monday.
Some 60 women accuse the former “Cosby Show” star of sexual assault, though Constand’s case is the only one that went to trial.
___
8:25 a.m.
Bill Cosby has arrived at a suburban Philadelphia courthouse for the start of a hearing that will determine the punishment for the 81-year-old comedian convicted of sexual assault.
Cosby, the first celebrity to go to trial in the #MeToo era, was convicted of drugging and molesting a Temple University women’s basketball administrator at his home in 2004. He faces a sentence of probation up to 30 years in prison. State guidelines suggest a one- to four-year sentence.
The two-day sentencing hearing will begin with testimony about Cosby’s sex offender evaluation and whether he should be deemed a sexually violent predator. That would make him subject to lifetime counselling and community notification.
The former “Cosby Show” star was convicted in April following a retrial.
___
6:15 a.m.
The woman Bill Cosby is convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting has tweeted a Bible verse about letting go of anger.
Andrea Constand tweeted Ephesians 4:26 early Monday, hours before Cosby’s sentencing hearing was to get underway. He could be sentenced to as many as 30 years in prison.
Her tweet was: “Be wrathful, but do not sin; do not let the sun set while you are still angry; do not give the Devil an opportunity.”
Cosby could be the first celebrity of the #MeToo era to go to prison after being convicted in April of drugging and sexually assaulting Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.
Prosecutors hope to call some of his other accusers to paint Cosby as a sexual predator deserving of prison.
___
1 a.m.
Bill Cosby is facing the start of a sentencing hearing at which a judge will decide how to punish the 81-year-old trailblazing comedian who preyed on at least one young woman and perhaps many more.
Cosby was the first celebrity to go to trial in the #MeToo era and could be the first to go to prison after being convicted in April of drugging and sexually assaulting former Temple University athletics employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.
At the end of the two-day hearing starting Monday, Montgomery County Judge Steven T. O’Neill could sentence Cosby to as many as 30 years in prison or send him home on probation.
The state guidelines for someone like Cosby, with no prior convictions, call for about one to four years behind bars.
The Associated Press