Bill Cosby to fight 'sexually violent predator' tag at sentencing Monday
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- Bill Cosby's sentencing hearing Monday will begin with testimony about his sex offender evaluation and, presumably, a fierce debate over whether the 81-year-old actor should be branded a sexually violent predator.The stakes are high given the lifetime counseling, community alerts and public shaming the designation would trigger.
Sentencing options for Cosby include prison, jail, probation
PHILADELPHIA — Bill Cosby could be sent to prison next week for drugging and molesting a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004 in what became the first celebrity trial of the #MeToo era.Cosby is due in court Monday for a two-day sentencing hearing that follows his conviction in the spring on three felony counts of aggravated indecent assault.The judge's options are broad, because the state guideline range of about one to four years spans the gamut from a prison term to a jail stint to house arrest or probation.
Board recommends Bill Cosby be found a sexually violent predator
NORRISTOWN, Pa. — Bill Cosby should be classified as a sexually violent predator, according to an assessment issued by Pennsylvania's Sexual Offenders Assessment Board.A court document filed by the Montgomery County district attorney's office Tuesday asks to schedule a hearing on the assessment so a judge can make the final determination of whether the comedian will be classified as sexually violent.
Sentencing in Bill Cosby's sex assault case set for Sept. 24
PHILADELPHIA — Bill Cosby will be sentenced Sept. 24 — five months after he was convicted of sexual assault.Judge Steven O'Neill set the date on Tuesday.
'Mob justice, not real justice:' Bill Cosby's wife calls for criminal investigation into prosecutor
PHILADELPHIA — Bill Cosby's wife called Thursday for a criminal investigation into the suburban Philadelphia prosecutor behind his sexual assault conviction, saying the case that could put the 80-year-old comedian in prison for the rest of his life was "mob justice, not real justice" and a "tragedy."Camille Cosby made her first comments on the verdict in a three-page statement sent to the media through a family spokesman, as institutions from Hollywood to Madison Avenue continued to wipe away the remnants of his legacy.
Bill Cosby judge weighs publicly disclosing jurors' names
NORRISTOWN, Pa. — The judge weighing whether to publicly identify members of the jury that convicted Bill Cosby of sexual assault tore into the news media at a hearing on Tuesday, accusing reporters of stalking jurors at their homes and bombarding them with phone calls since last week's verdict.Judge Steven O'Neill told lawyers for The Associated Press and other news outlets seeking the jurors' names that he had grave concerns for jurors' privacy and floated the possibility of trespassing and harassment charges for journalists who don't comply when asked to leave or to stop calling.However, he conceded that a longstanding state Supreme Court ruling that the names of jurors should be made public under the First Amendment would almost certainly force him to disclose them.Media lawyer Paul Safier argued that the public "has the right to know who made these momentous decisions."Prosecutors opposed the release of the jurors' names, citing privacy concerns.
Fitted with ankle bracelet, Cosby to be prisoner inside home
PHILADELPHIA — Two days after his conviction, Bill Cosby has already started life as an inmate — though his surroundings are far nicer than they likely will be in a few months.A judge says Cosby will be confined to the same suburban Philadelphia mansion where jurors concluded he drugged and molested a Temple University women's basketball administrator, ordering him to be outfitted with a GPS ankle bracelet to monitor compliance.
Cosby confined to his home as team decries 'public lynching'
NORRISTOWN, Pa. — Bill Cosby's team blasted his sexual-assault trial as a "public lynching" Friday and began looking ahead to an appeal as the judge ordered house arrest for the 80-year-old comedian and said he would be outfitted with a GPS ankle monitoring device.Cosby's appeal seems certain to focus on the judge's decision to let a parade of women testify that they, too, were abused by the former TV star.Defense allegations of a biased juror and the admission of Cosby's explosive testimony about drugs and sex are among other possible avenues of appeal as he tries to avoid a sentence that could keep him in prison for the rest of his days.Cosby remains free on $1 million bail while he awaits sentencing, probably within three months.Judge Steven O'Neill said Cosby would be confined to his suburban Philadelphia home in the meantime.
Guilty: Bill Cosby convicted of drugging and molesting woman in first big celebrity trial of #MeToo era
NORRISTOWN, PA -- Bill Cosby was convicted Thursday of drugging and molesting a woman in the first big celebrity trial of the #MeToo era, completing the spectacular late-life downfall of a comedian who broke racial barriers in Hollywood on his way to TV superstardom as America's Dad.Cosby, 80, could end up spending his final years in prison after a jury concluded he sexually violated Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.
Bill Cosby's lawyers get slammed by advocates for women
NORRISTOWN, Pa.— The sexual assault case against Bill Cosby went to the jury Wednesday as his lawyers came under heavy criticism for what some called a blatant attempt to "victim-shame" the parade of women who have leveled accusations against the 80-year-old comedian.In the first big celebrity trial of the #MeToo era, the panel of seven men and five women began weighing charges that Cosby drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home 14 years ago.
Jury in Bill Cosby case to begin deliberating on Wednesday
NORRISTOWN, Pa. — The jury in Bill Cosby's sexual-assault retrial will begin deliberating Wednesday after a searing day of closing arguments in which the comedian was variously portrayed as a calculating predator who is finally being brought to justice, or the victim of a multimillion-dollar frame-up by a "pathological liar."The judge sent the seven men and five women back to their hotel Tuesday evening after the jurors indicated they were exhausted from listening to 5½ hours of arguments."I want you well rested.
In closing, defense calls Bill Cosby accuser 'pathological liar'
NORRISTOWN, Pa. — Bill Cosby's lawyers urged a jury Tuesday to acquit the 80-year-old comedian of sexual assault charges they said were based on "flimsy, silly, ridiculous evidence," arguing he was falsely accused by a "pathological liar" scheming for a big payday.The first big celebrity trial of the #MeToo era was nearly in the hands of a jury after the defense declared that Cosby himself was the victim of an elaborate frame-up.Lawyers Tom Mesereau and Kathleen Bliss said in their closing argument that chief accuser Andrea Constand consented to a sexual encounter at Cosby's home in suburban Philadelphia, then leveled false accusations against the "Cosby Show" star so she could sue him and extract a big settlement."You're dealing with a pathological liar, members of the jury," Cosby lawyer Tom Mesereau said. "You are."Prosecutors were to deliver their closing argument next.
Closing arguments, deliberations loom in Bill Cosby retrial
NORRISTOWN, Pa. — Bill Cosby's sexual assault retrial is set to go to the jury on Tuesday, but not before closing arguments pitting the prosecution's portrayal of a serial predator against the defense's contention that he's the victim of a "con artist" who made up drugging and molestation allegations to score a big payday.The defense rested on Monday after the 80-year-old comedian said he wouldn't testify, echoing his decision at his first trial, which ended in a hung jury last year."You now have all of the evidence," Judge Steven O'Neill told jurors, sending them back to their sequestration hotel after an abbreviated day of testimony. "Try to relax, so that you're on your game tomorrow."Jurors at Cosby's first trial deliberated for five days without reaching a verdict on three related counts of aggravated indecent assault.
Expert: Benadryl, quaaludes could've affected Cosby accuser
NORRISTOWN, Pa. — Bill Cosby's chief accuser could have been made woozy either by the cold and allergy medicine Benadryl or by quaaludes, a prosecution expert testified Thursday at the comedian's sexual assault retrial.The identity of the pills that Cosby gave Andrea Constand before a 2004 sexual encounter at his home has been one of the case's most enduring mysteries.Constand testified that Cosby gave her three blue pills that knocked her out and then he violated her.
Jury hears Bill Cosby's graphic testimony about accuser
NORRISTOWN, Pa. — Jurors on Tuesday got a sense of Bill Cosby's view of consent from graphic deposition testimony in which the comedian described reaching an area "somewhere between permission and rejection" during what he claims was a prior sexual encounter with his chief accuser.Cosby, 80, testified a dozen years ago as part of a lawsuit that Andrea Constand filed against him, and prosecutors won the right to introduce it at his sexual assault retrial on charges he drugged and molested her at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.In the deposition, Cosby described his attempt to obtain consent from Constand during a previous encounter."I'm giving Andrea time to say 'yes' or 'no' about an area that is right there in the question zone," Cosby testified.He said he rubbed the skin above her trousers and "without talking I'm asking can I go farther.""I don't hear her say anything.
Bill Cosby's accuser, her mom testify at sex-assault retrial
NORRISTOWN, Pa. — Bill Cosby's chief accuser at his sexual-assault trial on Monday denied framing him and said she doesn't know a key witness who plans to testify she spoke of leveling false accusations against a celebrity.Andrea Constand told jurors she doesn't "recall ever having a conversation with" Marguerite Jackson.
On witness stand, accuser calls Bill Cosby a 'serial rapist'
NORRISTOWN, Pa. — The first accuser to testify at Bill Cosby's retrial described the comedian Wednesday as "a serial rapist" as she parried with his lawyers, while a second accuser tearfully confronted the comedian over a 32-year-old assault allegation: "You remember, don't you, Mr.
Bill Cosby's lawyer launches fierce attack on 'con artist' accuser
NORRISTOWN, Pa. — Bill Cosby's lawyer launched a blistering courtroom attack on the comedian's accuser Tuesday, branding her a con artist whose goal was "money, money and lots more money."Tom Mesereau told jurors in his opening statement at the former TV star's sex-assault trial that Andrea Constand wasn't attracted to Cosby but was "madly in love" with his fame and money and made up the accusations to score a big payday.He said she "hit the jackpot" when Cosby paid her $3.4 million more than a decade ago to settle her lawsuit over allegations he drugged and molested her in 2004.Prosecutors say it was the "Cosby Show" star who betrayed Constand's trust by giving her pills and then violating her at his suburban Philadelphia mansion.
Bill Cosby's sex-assault retrial won't be like the 1st
NORRISTOWN, Pa. -- With opening statements in Bill Cosby's sexual assault retrial set for Monday, prosecutors have lined up a parade of accusers to make the case that the man revered as "America's Dad" lived a double life as one of Hollywood's biggest predators.Cosby's retrial likely won't be anything like his first one.
Ohio State revokes Bill Cosby's honorary degree amid retrial
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State University has revoked an honorary degree awarded to Bill Cosby when he spoke at commencement in 2001.University trustees on Friday approved rescinding the degree for the 80-year-old comedian, whose retrial in a sexual assault case begins Monday with opening statements in suburban Philadelphia.An Ohio State spokesman says Cosby has, by his own admission, violated the university's principles and values.This is the first time Ohio State has revoked an honorary degree.