Prosecutors want Bill Cosby declared a ‘sexually violent predator’ as sentencing starts
NORRISTOWN, Pa. — Prosecutors in the Bill Cosby sexual assault case spent Monday morning trying to show that the disgraced entertainer should be declared a “sexually violent predator” — a designation that would subject him to a lifetime of registering as a sex offender.
Psychologist Kristen Dudley, a member of the Pennsylvania board that assesses convicted sex offenders, testified that Cosby met the criteria for such a designation.
Montgomery County Judge Steven T. O’Neill is required to rule on whether Cosby should be declared as a sexually violent predator before he sentences Cosby, who was found guilty in April of molesting a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home back in early 2004.
The once-beloved comedian could be sentenced to up to 30 years behind bars, though O’Neill has wide latitude in determining a sentence for the 81-year-old Cosby — the first celebrity to be sentenced during the #MeToo movement. The sentencing is expected to occur sometime Tuesday, but could happen as early as late Monday.
Cosby, meanwhile, walked into the courtroom Monday on the arm of his publicist, Andrew Wyatt, and with a new team of defense lawyers — Joseph P. Green Jr. and Peter Goldberger.
Cosby, once known as “America’s Dad,” was found guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault for molesting Andrea Constand, a former operations manager for the women’s basketball team at Temple University, where Cosby was an enthusiastic supporter and major donor.
Cosby has been accused of sexual assault by dozens of women in the past few years, but Constand’s allegations are the only ones that became the subject of a criminal case. Monday’s hearing drew a number of the other accusers as well as Constand, who was seated in the front row of the packed courtroom.
Cosby has denied assaulting Constand and contends their sexual encounter was consensual. He is expected to appeal his conviction.
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