Disgraced comedian Bill Cosby will serve three to 10 years in state prison, Montgomery County Judge Steven T. O’Neill ruled on Tuesday. The former television superstar, who traded on a squeaky clean, fatherly image, was sentenced after being found guilty of three counts of felony aggravated indecent assault in April in one of the most widely publicized trials in modern history.
The sentence is significantly lighter than the possible maximum sentence for his crimes, each of which carry up to 10 years in prison, meaning he could have served a 30 year maximum sentence. However, District Attorney Kevin Steel asked O’Neill Monday to sentence Cosby, 81, to five to 10 years in state prison. However, Cosby’s defense team argued that even that would cause “excessive hardship” to the elderly star.
“What does an 81-year-old man do in prison?” attorney Joseph Green asked the court. “How does he fight off the people who are trying to extort him, or walk to the mess hall?”
However, Cosby’s accuser, Andrea Constand, as well as the more than 60 women who have come forward with allegations against him in recent years, argued that the man once heralded as “America’s Dad” should not get a pass for his crimes just because of his age and status.
“I wasn’t sure what had actually happened but the pain spoke volumes,” Constand said in an impact statement to the court. “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.”
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