Judge Steven T. O'Neill ordered Bill Cosby to return to the Montgomery County Courthouse in Pennsylvania on September 24 for the sentencing hearing in his criminal case.
The court order also informed Cosby and his defense team that two days had been set aside for the hearing, which suggests that Judge O'Neill might allow some of the 62 women who have publicly accused Cosby of sexual assault to come forward and speak.
At least one of those women, plaintiff Andrea Constand, is expected to deliver her victim impact statement at that time.
Cosby is facing 30 years in prison after he was found guilty on three counts of aggravated incident assault.
Cosby has been under house arrest at his estate in nearby Elkins Park ever since a jury found him guilty of drugging and molesting Constand in 2004, while she was an employee at Temple University at the time.
He has also been outfitted with an electronic monitoring bracleet and may only leave his home to vicitim his lawyer or doctor.
Ahead of his sentencing, Cosby will also undergo a Sexually Violent Predator Test, the results of which will be examined by the Sexual Offenders Assessment Board, who will pass along their recommendations to the court.
In addition to Constand, it is likely that the five other women who testified at Cosby's trial will be able to deliver victim impact statements at the sentencing hearing in September.
Janice Baker-Kinney, Janice Dickinson, Chelan Lasha, Lisa-Lotte Lublin and Heidi Thomas all testified on behalf of the prosecution, who had hoped to have 13 witnesses take the stand during Cosby's retrial.
Constand testified in court that Cosby gave her wine and pills and then sexually assaulted her while she was unconscious.
'I got scared,' Constand told police of the alleged assault. 'I had no strength in my legs. They felt rubbery and like jelly. I felt spacey. Everything was blurry or dizzy. I had no thought to call 911.'
She later told police: 'I told him, "I can't even talk, Mr. Cosby." I started to panic.'
Constand claims she arrived at Cosby's home on the night in question and was greeted by the actor, who was wearing a sweatsuit.
The two spoke about Constand's future, and she told Cosby she was feeling 'drained' and 'emotionally occupied.'
That is when Cosby allegedly went upstairs and returned with three blue pills. telling Constand: 'These will make you feel good. The blue things will take the edge off.'
Constand claims she then asked if the pills were herbal, to which Cosby replied: 'Yes. Down them. Put 'em down. Put them in your mouth.'
According to the affidavit of probable cause, Cosby then told Constand to have some wine, and soon after she began to have trouble speaking and seeing.
Cosby then allegedly told her to lie down on the couch, and soon after, according to the affidavit of probable hearing, was 'fondling her breasts, put his hands into her pants, and penetrated her vagina with his fingers'.
He also allegedly took her hand and placed it on his erect penis.
Constand claims she woke up hours later around 4am and realized her bra was undone and above her breasts and that her sweater was bunched up.
As she made her way to the door she claims Cosby was standing there in a robe and holding a muffin, which he handed to her as she left while saying: 'Alright.'
Constand, the former director of operations for Temple's women's basketball team and a one time college basketball star herself, launched a legal suit against Cosby, a man she called her 'mentor', in March 2005.
She said she first met Cosby, a Temple alum, in November 2002 and the pair became friends and she was a frequent guest at dinner parties at his home.
The case against him emerged just days before Pennsylvania's 12-year statute of limitation deadline for pressing charges was about to run out and despite a previous DA declining to charge Cosby a decade ago.
Cosby previously said under oath that he had consensual sexual contact with Constand.
The criminal complaint alleges that on the night in question Cosby told Constand to take three blue pills that left her feeling weak and then led her to a sofa where the assault took place.
When she woke up the next morning he gave her the muffin and sent her home.
Cc;dailymail
No comments:
Post a Comment