Bill Cosby has been sentenced to three to 10 years in state prison for sexual assault.
The 81-year-old actor – who has been accused by more than 60 women of sexual abuse over a decade – will be sent to a correctional facility after he was convicted in April of three counts of aggravated indecent assault for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004.
The ‘Cosby Show’ star was denied bail and led out of a Pennsylvanian courtroom on Tuesday (25.09.18) in handcuffs.
Judge Steven O’Neill commented: "This is a serious crime he was convicted for. This is a sexual assault crime."
O’Neill ruled that the shamed actor was a "sexually violent predator" as he sentenced him to a lifetime locked away in confinement.
The ‘Fat Albert’ actor, who will have to report to police regularly as he receives counselling, is also now listed on the US state’s sex-offender registry which is available to access by members of the public, including his victims.
In a five-page statement, Andrea revealed she has been left crippled by the assault and has never been able to "heal fully" or "move forward" with her life.
She wrote: "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.
"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."
Cosby’s sentencing came five months after his conviction in one of the first trials of the MeToo initiative which saw several celebrities speak out about their own experiences of sexual harassment and assault.
Bill Cosby sentenced to state prison for sexual assault
