Disgraced comedian, Bill Cosby, faces the prospect of spending the rest of his life in jail after a judge in Pennsylvania jailed him three to 10 years for sexual assault on Tuesday.
Cosby, 81, was also categorised as a sexually violent predator, meaning he must undergo counselling for life and be listed on the sex offender registry.
“Mr. Cosby, this all circles back to you,” Montgomery County Judge Steven O’Neill said as he imposed the sentence. “The day has come. The time has come.”
The actor once known as America’s Dad declined to make a statement when offered the opportunity.
At a retrial in April, Cosby was found guilty of three counts of sexual assault for drugging and molesting Andrea Constand in 2004.
Cosby’s request for bail pending appeal was denied. He was also fined $25,000 (£19,000) plus the prosecution costs.
After the sentencing, he was led away in handcuffs from the courtroom. He was then driven to Montgomery County Correctional Facility.
Cosby’s attorney had asked for his sentence to be restricted to house arrest, saying he was too frail for prison.
The actor had been under house arrest since April.
Cosby’s spokesman, Andrew Wyatt, dismissed the trial as “the most racist and sexist” in the history of the US, and said the convicted man was a victim of a “sex war”.
District Attorney Steele summed up Cosby’s fall from fame to ignominy: “For decades the defendant has been able to hide his true self and hide his crimes using his fame and fortune.
“He’s hidden behind a character… but it was fiction… He used his acting skills, that endearing TV persona, to win over his victims and keep them silent…
“Someone who has a lot of money, someone who is famous, someone who can get a lot of attention all over the world just by showing up some place to eat shouldn’t get a free pass for his crimes or be allowed to walk free.”
Cosby’s wife, Camille, did not attend the sentencing.
