Bill Cosby emerged from a Pennsylvania courtroom in handcuffs and was led straight to state prison on Tuesday after being sentenced to three to 10 years for drugging and molesting a woman more than a decade ago.
Judge Steven O’Neill handed down 81 year old Cosby’s sentence on Tuesday afternoon.
The comic, who was once known as America’s Dad, removed his watch, tie and jacket in the courtroom before being escorted out in handcuffs while carrying his walking stick.
‘This was a serious crime. It is time for justice. Mr Cosby, this has all circled back to you. The time has come,’ O’Neill said in sentencing him. ‘No one is above the law, and no one should be treated differently.’
The punishment came at the end of a two-day hearing at which the judge also declared Cosby a ‘sexually violent predator’.
Daily Mail reports that , the classification means that Cosby must undergo lifetime counseling and report quarterly to authorities. His name will also appear on a sex-offender registry sent to neighbors, schools and victims.
Cosby was denied bail, fined $25,000 and ordered to pay prosecution costs, which are expected to be more than $44,000.
He declined the opportunity to address the court during his sentencing and sat smiling, laughing and chatting with his defense team while waiting for the judge’s decision.
His wife of 54 years, Camille, was not in court during the sentencing.
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