Bill Cosby will be sentenced on 24 September, almost five months after he was convicted of sexual assault by a Pennsylvania jury, a judge announced on Tuesday.
Lawyers for the comedian, who turns 81 in July and faces the prospect of the rest of his life in prison, had asked Judge Steven O’Neill to delay sentencing until the end of the year.
Cosby’s convictions on three counts of aggravated indecent assault are expected to be combined into one charge that carries a standard sentencing range of five to 10 years in prison.
Cosby’s spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The actor and comedian once revered as “America’s Dad” for his family man role on the Cosby Show has been confined to his suburban Philadelphia mansion since his 26 April conviction. He has not been heard from publicly since an outburst in court that day.
O’Neill ordered Cosby be fitted with a GPS monitoring bracelet and said he needed permission to leave the home, where jurors concluded he drugged and molested Andrea Constand in January 2004. Even then, Cosby can go out only to visit his lawyers or the doctor.
Before sentencing, Cosby must undergo an assessment to determine if he is a sexually violent predator. Because of his conviction, he will also be required to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law.
Constand, a former Temple University women’s basketball administrator, is expected to speak at the sentencing. O’Neill said in a court order the hearing could take two days.
Constand testified at Cosby’s trial that the comedian knocked her out with three blue pills he called “your friends” and then penetrated her with his fingers as she lay immobilized, unable to resist or say no.
Cosby claimed the encounter was consensual, saying he gave her the cold and allergy medicine Benadryl to relax. His lawyers have vowed to appeal, but that cannot happen until Cosby is sentenced.
Constand’s testimony and that of five other accusers allowed prosecutors to uncloak Cosby as a manipulative predator who used his built-in trust to trick women into taking powerful intoxicants so he could violate them.