NORRISTOWN, Pa. — Bill Cosby, who for years dodged accusations that he had preyed on women while brightening America’s living rooms as a beloved father figure, left a courtroom in handcuffs on Tuesday after he was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting a woman in his home. The time has come.” Acknowledging the impact that the case has had on Mr. Cosby’s legacy, Judge O’Neill added: “Fallen angels suffer most.”

Mr. Cosby, who has said he will appeal the conviction, was denied bail and ordered to prison immediately. Though the maximum sentence he could have received was 30 years behind bars, the judge himself asked for a prison sentence of 5-10 years. He quoted from victim Andrea Constand’s own statement to the court, in which she said Cosby took her “beautiful, young spirit and crushed it.”

Cosby, once beloved as “America’s Dad”, is the first celebrity convicted and sentenced for a sex crime since the downfall of Harvey Weinstein ushered in the #MeToo movement and America’s reckoning with sexual harassment. “For jurors, I think it’s inherently changed the credibility of the accusers.”

In the years since Constand first went to authorities in 2005, more than 60 women have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct, though none of those claims have led to criminal charges.
American actor/comedian Bill Cosby is sentenced to three to ten years in a Pennsylvania prison for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman in 2004.