A judge has rejected Bill Cosby’s bid for a new trial or sentencing hearing.
The ruling by Montgomery County Judge Steven O’Neill on Oct. 23 has led Cosby’s lawyers to file their appeal with the state Superior Court, which is the next step as they attempt to reverse Cosby’s felony sex assault conviction, according to the Associated Press.
The defense wants the 81-year-old Cosby released on bail while he appeals over the alleged trial errors.
Cosby’s wife of 54 years, Camille, accused O’Neill of bias against her husband, as she has done since Cosby’s first trial.
According to AP, Camille said in a statement on Oct. 23 that O’Neill should have stepped down because his wife has been an advocate for sexual assault victims. O’Neill responded by saying that his wife’s work does not influence his legal rulings.
3 Counts of Aggravated Indecent Assault
Cosby is currently serving a three to 10 year state prison term. He is living in a single cell near the infirmary at the State Correctional Institution-Phoenix in suburban Philadelphia and has access to a day room, where he can watch television or eat meals, a state prisons spokeswoman said, according to AP.
Cosby’s case first ended in a jury deadlock in June 2017. At a retrial in April 26, Cosby was convicted on three counts of aggravated indecent assault against a woman by the name of Andrea Constand; officials said he drugged and assaulted her in 2004 at his Philadelphia home.
At the retrial, it was also revealed that Cosby had paid Constand $3.4 million as part of a civil settlement in 2006, the BBC reported. Prosecutors said that the $3.4 million is evidence that Cosby needed to silence Constand.
On Sept. 25, O’Neill sentenced Cosby to three to 10 years in prison.
“It is time for justice. Mr. Cosby, this has all circled back to you. The time has come,” O’Neill said, before quoting from the victim’s own statement to the court, in which she said Cosby took her “beautiful, young spirit and crushed it.”
The judge also declared him a “sexually violent predator” who remains a danger to the community.
Drugged and Raped
Cosby is best known for playing the wise-cracking Dr. Cliff Huxtable on the top-ranked “Cosby Show” from 1984 to 1992.
Cosby admitted giving Benedryl to Constand but has argued that the sex they had was consensual. Constand said Cosby took advantage of her in 2004 after he drugged her.
“I was completely vulnerable and powerless to protect myself. After the assault, I wasn’t sure what had actually happened but the pain spoke volumes.
“The shame was overwhelming. Self-doubt and confusion kept me from turning to my family or friends as I normally did. I felt completely alone, unable to trust anyone, including myself,” she wrote.
Jack Phillips and Zachary Stieber of The Epoch Times and The Associated Press contributed to this report
From NTD.tv
