Bill Cosby, former actor and comedian, arrived for his sentence hearing on Sept. 25. The hearing took place at the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, located approximately 15 minutes away from Cabrini’s campus.
Cosby was first tried in the summer of 2017, but the case resulted in a mistrial after the jury was unable to come to a unanimous verdict. In the April retrial, a jury found the 80-year-old comedian guilty of three felony counts of aggravated indecent assault.
Judge Steven O’Neill delivered a sentence of three to 10 years for the drugging and sexual assault of Andrea Constand in 2004. Constand was the women’s basketball administrator at Temple University, where alumnus Cosby was also on the Board of Trustees for 32 years. He had also received an honorary degree for his career achievements, however, the university has since rescinded these honors in light of Bill Cosby’s conviction.
A Pennsylvania state board psychologist testified that Bill Cosby exhibited characteristics of a serial predator and would still be an immediate threat if he were to not be apprehended. Cosby was taken immediately into custody following the sentencing.
The actor is currently in custody at SCI Phoenix, a maximum-security state correctional facility located in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. He is currently being assessed by medical staff and psychologists. It is still unclear whether he will be admitted into the general population or if he will be placed in protective custody based on his age, blindness and celebrity status.
In the wake of the evergrowing #MeToo, #TimesUp and #IBelieveHer movements, many are viewing Bill Cosby’s arrest as a small victory in the war against sexual predators in entertainment and politics. Both started as viral hashtags on social media that have evolved into global demonstrations.
Kathleen McCauley, is a Cabrini University sophomore and the president of Spectrum, an organization that focuses on gender and sexuality issues. She is also an avid supporter of the #MeToo movement. When asked her opinion of the outcome of Bill Cosby’s trail, she said, “It’s a step in the right direction even if its not where it should be. At least he was sentenced, even though he wasn’t sentenced enough. But we are on the right path.”
