Actor and Comedian Bill Cosby arrives in court for sentencing in his sexual assault trial in Norristown, Pennsylvania on September 24, 2018 (David MAIALETTI)

Norristown (United States) (AFP) – The Canadian woman Bill Cosby sexually assaulted asked his sentencing hearing Monday for justice as the disgraced entertainer saw his maximum potential punishment reduced from 30 to 10 years.

The frail 81-year-old — once beloved as “America’s Dad” — became the first celebrity convicted of a sex crime in the #MeToo era, for drugging and molesting Andrea Constand, a former university basketball administrator, at his Philadelphia mansion in January 2004.

“All I’m asking for is justice as the court sees fit,” Constand told the court on the first of Cosby’s two-day sentence hearing in Norristown, Pennsylvania.

Around 60 women, many of them onetime aspiring actresses and models, publicly branded Cosby a calculating, serial predator who plied victims with sedatives and alcohol to bed them over four decades.

But the case involving the former Temple University employee turned massage therapist was the only one that happened recently enough to prosecute.

Her parents and sister also testified, recalling how traumatic Constand’s ordeal at the hands of Cosby had been for the entire family, with her mother suffering an aneurism and being diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2015.

Her sister said Constand was “frail,” “timid” and “nervous” when she returned home to Canada from Philadelphia, after her sexual assault, the opposite of her customary vibrant personality.

When people ask her how Andrea’s doing, she says: “‘She’s doing fine thank you,'” but immediately afterward I wonder how she is really doing? How can she handle being called a con artist, a gold digger, a pathological liar?”

– Future victim ‘possible’ –

“She is my hero,” the sister added.

The pioneering comedian and award-winning actor now risks becoming one of the most famous Americans ever sent to prison. 

He had initially faced a maximum technical sentence of 30 years, 10 years for each of the three counts on which he was convicted.

But Judge Steven O’Neill confirmed that the defense and prosecution had agreed to merge the second and third counts for aggravated indecent assault into the first, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.

Prosecutors want him sent straight to prison, saying he has expressed no remorse, while the defense demands leniency, given his age and frailty, which would put him under house arrest pending the outcome of any appeals.

The prosecution also wants Cosby included on a list of violent sexual predators, as recommended by a state board. The defense does not.

Under Pennsylvania law, a sexually violent predator has “a mental abnormality or personality disorder” that makes the person “likely to engage in predatory sexually violent offenses.”

If Cosby is so listed, he would have to be registered with state police for the rest of his life and be subjected to mandatory sex offender counseling.

A psychologist and member of the assessment board said that it was “possible” he had already met “a future victim,” hitting back against his claim to be legally blind. “Being blind doesn’t make you unconscious,” she said.

“Mr Cosby is not dangerous. Eighty-one-year-old blind men that are not self sufficient are not dangerous,” defense lawyer Joseph Green told the court.

– $1 million bail –

Green insisted that a key defense witness, psychologist Timothy Foley, would only be available to testify on Tuesday.

Only after that will O’Neill impose his punishment, making Cosby the first celebrity sentenced for a sex crime since the 2017 downfall of Harvey Weinstein ushered in a US watershed on sexual harassment.

The entertainer appeared relaxed, chatting and even smiling with one of his lawyers, as he sat in court dressed in a dark suit, white shirt and patterned tie, with a handkerchief in his top pocket.

In a group of other Cosby accusers, chatting and hugging one another during recess, joined Constand in an almost triumphant mood.

The once towering figure in late 20th century American popular culture was the first black actor to grace primetime US television.

Previously adored by millions for his defining role on “The Cosby Show,” he has been confined to his Philadelphia area mansion on a $1 million bail for nearly three years.

Cosby is now on his third lead lawyer since his arrest in December 2015, having parted ways with celebrity advocate Tom Mesereau after the guilty verdict.

Cosby’s first trial ended in June 2017 with a hung jury, hopelessly deadlocked after 52 hours of deliberations. 

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