Hollywood actor Bill Cosby was led away in prison handcuffs yesterday afternoon, following what has been one of the most controversial and debated celebrity criminal trials in US history.
Following Cosby's conviction of sexual assault earlier this year - which is widely recognised as the first of a celebrity in the #MeToo era - Montgomery County (Pennsylvania) Judge Steven O'Neill sentenced the 81-year-old actor to state prison for three to 10 years and 'total confinement'.
In his closing statement O'Neill said: 'It is time for justice. Mr. Cosby, this has all circled back to you. The time has come.'
In a statement victim Andrea Constand submitted to the court for Cosby’s sentencing, she described the person she was before the assault and its continued impact.
A segment of the statement reads: 'After the assault, I wasn’t sure what had actually happened but the pain spoke volumes. The shame was overwhelming. Self-doubt and confusion kept me from turning to my family or friends as I normally did. I felt completely alone, unable to trust anyone, including myself.'
'Bill Cosby,' Constand wrote, 'took my beautiful, healthy young spirit and crushed it. He robbed me of my health and vitality, my open nature, and my trust in myself and others.'
Her words serve as a powerful reminder of the on-going trauma victims of sexual assault face and her unwavering strength and resilience to look to the future.
'I want to get to the place where the person I was meant to be gets a second chance,' she wrote. 'I know that I still have room to grow.'
The tone of Costand's statement varies considerably to that of Cosby's, who declined the opportunity to speak before his sentencing. Instead, his spokesman Andrew Wyatt addressed reporters outside the courtroom.
Following the sentencing, Wyatt said the comic had endured the 'most racist and sexist trial in the history of the United States'.
Reading the lengthy statement off his mobile phone, the spokesman claimed that both Cosby and Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh - who is currently facing his own series of sexual assault allegations, which he denies - are victims of a 'sex war' occurring in Washington, which he accuses Judge O'Neill to be a part of.
Wyatt claimed the psychologists who testified against his defendant were 'white women who make money off of accusing black men of being sexual predators'. He also accused prosecutors of tampering a recording of a telephone conversation between Andrea Constand's mother and Cosby.
At the end of the case, Cosby's lawyers asked for the comic to be allowed to remain free on bail while he appeals his conviction. Judge O'Neill denied their plea and ordered Cosby to be locked up immediately, adding that 'he could quite possibly be a danger to the community'.
The star was also fined £19,000 ($25,000) plus the prosecution costs and will now be classified as a 'sexually violent predator'.
At a news conference following the sentencing, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele spoke of Cosby's downfall, referring to his best-known role on his successful American sitcom, The Cosby Show.
'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 created, Dr. Cliff Huxtable,' he said.
But 'now, finally, Bill Cosby has been unmasked, and we have seen the real man as he is headed off to prison,' he added.
After the sentencing, the actor was driven to Montgomery County Correctional Facility and will be transferred to SCI Phoenix, a state prison in Collegeville, Pennsylvania.
Cosby was convicted in April 2018 of sexually assaulting Constand, a former Temple University employee, at his suburban Philadelphia mansion in 2004.
Constand testified that Cosby incapacitated her with what she initially believed were herbal pills to ease stress, before molesting her while she drifted in and out of consciousness. Cosby claimed the encounter was consensual.
Some 60 other women have accused the actor of sexual misconduct but charges have not been brought because of the statute of limitations. However, the actor does face defamation lawsuits for branding his accusers liars.
On April 26, Bill Cosby was convicted on three counts of aggravated indecent assault for drugging and molesting Andrea Constand in 2004.
After the sentencing several of them women who accused Cosby of sexual assault said it finally brought them a piece of closure they previously thought was unattainable.
'Today, I feel a victory in my soul and in my heart,' said Sarita Butterfield, who claims Cosby drugged and raped her in his home on Christmas Eve 1979. 'Today, I am free.'
Actress Lili Bernard described the sentence as a 'hallelujah moment', despite her 'mixed emotions' over its length.
'On the one hand I feel absolutely elated that justice was served,' she explained. 'On the other hand I also feel disappointed, because clearly the three-year minimum sentence does not adequately reflect the havoc this man, this rapist, has inflicted on so many women, including myself.
'It does indicate there is now a shift in the legal system that is now going to reflect modern culture, and that now women's voices are being believed and women's lives are being valued.'
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
