American comedian Bill Cosby was sentenced to three to 10 years in state prison for sexual assault. Furthermore, the 81-year-old was denied bail and led out of the courtroom in handcuffs.
The Montgomery Court judge pronouncing the judgment said, “I am not permitted to treat him any differently based on who he is or who he was. No one is above the law, and no one should be treated differently or disproportionately.”
The 81-year-old actor was also categorised as a sexually violent predator, which means must undergo counselling for life and be listed on the sex offender registry.
Cosby’s sentencing comes after a lengthy trial in which he faced accusations from former Temple University employee Andrea Constand and was found guilty.
Cosby was found to have drugged and raped Constand at his Philadelphia home in 2004. Since then, multiple women have come forward against ‘The Cosby Show’ star and levelled similar allegations.
Kathy McKee, a former actress who also accused Cosby of raping her, told CNN that she is happy and grateful to Andrea Constand for ‘standing strong’.
Cosby’s trial was heralded as the first major celebrity trial of the #MeToo movement and the first to result in a conviction.
