Though Cosby's lawyers requested bail after the sentencing, Judge Steven O'Neill decided to revoke his bail and ordered him into custody, stressing that "this was a serious crime he was convicted for." Journalists inside the Pennsylvania courtroom reported O'Neill indicated that "sex offender treatment in prison will be appropriate for Cosby."
"This was a serious crime," O'Neill told Cosby in court. "Mr. Cosby, this has all circled back to you. The day has come, the time has come."
Cosby had been found guilty in April on three counts of aggravated indecent assault for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004. Constand has stated that Cosby assaulted her at his Pennsylvania home after she had reached out to him for career advice.
O'Neill began the explanation of Cosby's sentence by saying that the actor and comedian should be classified as a "sexually violent predator," which requires that Cosby register as a sex offender and undergo monthly counseling. Cosby is also required to register with police if he decides to move after he leaves prison, so that community members and school administrators can be alerted.
Prosecutors also released a five-page letter to O'Neill on Tuesday in which Constand described the impact of Cosby's assault. "I knew who I was and I liked who I was… Nothing could have prepared me for an evening of January 2004, when life as I knew it came to an abrupt halt," she wrote. "Bill Cosby took my beautiful, healthy young spirit and crushed it. He robbed me of my health and vitality, my open nature, and my trust in myself and others."
Prosecutors had initially requested a sentence of five to 10 years in prison. Cosby's defense, however, asked for a more lenient sentence of house arrest due to the comedian's age and blindness.