Bill Cosby: From America’s Dad to America’s Disgrace

Bill Cosby, formerly known as “America’s Dad” was imprisoned Tuesday, September 25th for three to ten years in a state prison for sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his house 14 years ago.  Cosby’s bail was revoked and he was escorted from the courthouse in cuffs.

Andrea Constand met Cosby in 2002 when she was 29 years old.  She was the director of operations for Temple University’s Women’s basketball team and was introduced to Bill by a mutual friend.  From the moment he saw Constand, he was romantically interested in her. He planned to “meet her” and “perhaps to have some moments with her that would have to do with some sort of friendship,” he said.  Constand, who is lesbian, and was in a relationship with a female at the time, said she had no interest whatsoever in Cosby. Instead, she saw him more as a mentor, and felt they had a “sincere friendship.”  The year after the assault, Andrea struggled with sleep, having nightmares, and sometimes even screaming in her sleep, according to her mother.

The reason Andrea did not tell anyone that she was assaulted by Cosby was because “there was an element of fear,” she told the police. “Before I was going to say anything to anyone, I had to put my own thoughts and feelings together.  I was emotionally shocked. I was still traumatized about the whole situation. I had some emotional stress I was dealing with. I needed to come to terms with this on my own.”

Andrea filed a civil lawsuit against Cosby.  Then, thirteen other women came forward, saying that he’s done the same to them.  Several of the women subsequently made their identities and allegations public. Although the civil lawsuit was settled out of court by Cosby in 2006, it produced nearly 1,000 pages of testimony provided by entertainer over four days in 2005 and 2006.

CNN says that he was ordered to pay a fine of $25,000 and the costs of prosecution as part of the sentence.  Cosby will be classified as a “sexually violent predator,” a determination that requires lifetime registration, lifetime mandatory sex offender counseling with a treatment provider. As long as he lives in an area, the community will get a notification that a “sexually violent predator” lives in the area.