The woman whose complaint led to Bill Cosby’s conviction for sexual assault called for justice in brief testimony on the first day of the comedian’s two-day sentencing hearing on Monday, where prosecutors asked for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
Cosby was convicted in April of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, a former administrator at his alma mater Temple University, in his Philadelphia-area home in 2004 and faces a possible prison sentence on Tuesday. More than 50 other women also have accused him of sexual abuse going back decades.
Surrounded by her parents and siblings, Constand addressed the court in a loud, clear voice for roughly a minute as Cosby, 81, sat nearby.
“Your honor, I have testified. I have given you my victim impact statement. The jury heard me. Mr. Cosby heard me. All I am asking for is justice as the court sees fit.”
Her relatives also spoke, including her mother, Gianna Constand, who said Cosby had tried to “destroy our reputation” to protect his own.
Cosby is the first celebrity to be convicted since the start of the #MeToo movement, the national reckoning with sexual misconduct that has brought down dozens of powerful men in entertainment, politics and other fields.
Cosby was convicted on three counts of aggravated indecent assault, a crime punishable by a maximum sentence of between five and 10 years in prison. Prosecutors asked for the maximum prison sentence, citing the nature of Cosby’s crime as well as his alleged history of misconduct. They also asked that Cosby is fined $25,000, pay court costs and, if he ever came up for parole, he submits to a “psycho-sexual evaluation” that he had refused prior to sentencing.
Cosby’s lawyers asked for house arrest in lieu of imprisonment.
