Bill Cosby was sentenced on Tuesday to three to 10 years in prison for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman in 2004. Judge Steven T. O’Neill sentenced the 81-year-old following the conclusion of the hearing to determine how long he would be behind bars for being convicted of sexual assault.
“It is time for justice. Mr. Cosby, this has all circled back to you. The time has come,” O’Neill said.
It was unclear if Cosby would be immediately remanded to prison or if he would remain free on bail during an appeal, which was expected to be filed by defense attorneys. Either way, Cosby will serve at least three years and at most a decade behind bars.
DATED: 2:55 p.m. EDT — Bill Cosby has been taken away in handcuffs and was headed straight to prison after he was sentenced on Tuesday. Judge Steven T. O’Neill denied Cosby bail and ordered him behind bars immediately. Live footage was played on TV showing what amounted to a perp walk following the sentencing.
It was unclear which prison Cosby would be sent to, but in the meantime, he was taken to local legal facilities for processing, according to a report on CNN.
Gloria Allred, an attorney who represented many of the 60 women accusing Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting them, announced the disgraced comedian would be able to seek parole after he served three years in prison.
Cosby’s spokesperson Andrew Wyatt read a statement following the sentence charging that the entire legal process was “racist and sexist.” Another spokesperson, Ebonee Benson, read a statement from Camille Cosby, the comedian’s wife, claiming that her husband “was denied his right to a fair trial,” citing a tape recording played during the trial that she said was “doctored.”