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Sentencing Hearing for Comedian Bill Cosby Opens Monday

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Comedian Bill Cosby to Be Sentenced for Sexual Assault
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Comedian Bill Cosby to Be Sentenced for Sexual Assault

Comedian Bill Cosby will likely learn his fate this week as the sentencing phase in his sexual assault trial begins Monday near Philadelphia.

Cosby was convicted in April on three counts of aggravated indecent assault against former Temple University administrator Andrea Constand.

Under sentencing guidelines, Cosby could get as much as 30 years in prison, which would be a life sentence for the 81-year-old entertainer.

His attorneys are expected to appeal to the judge to sentence Cosby to house arrest because of his fragile health. Cosby is legally blind.

The judge could also sentence Cosby to a short stay in prison.

Two women who say Cosby sexually assaulted them in the 1980s say he deserves to spend time in prison.

One of the alleged victims, Chelan Lasha, told reporters Sunday she wants Cosby to get the maximum time in prison, saying she still has nightmares about the assault.

After a mistrial during the first case against him in 2017, a jury convicted Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting Constand at his Philadelphia home in 2004. Constand came to Cosby's house seeking career advice because he was a Temple alumnus.

Cosby denied the charge and said any sexual contact he had with Constand was consensual.

About 60 women have alleged Cosby sexually assaulted them dating back to the 1960s, when Cosby became famous. Constand's case is the only one to come to trial.

Cosby is best known for his 1980s television series The Cosby Show, which solidified his now destroyed image as a wise and genial family man.

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