Bill Cosby was taken straight to jail on Tuesday afternoon.
As previously reported and celebrated on The Hollywood Gossip, Cosby was sentened to a minimum of three years behind bars for drugging and raping Andrea Constand back in 2004.
The former Temple University employee was just one of several dozen women who made an accusation of this nature against the disgraced comedian.
The ex-sitcom star was denied bail by the judge who decided on his punishment and led away to prison in handcuffs shortly after th enews of his sentencing broke.
Said this Pennsylvania judge upon issuing his decision:
“It is time for justice. Mr. Cosby, this has all circled back to you. The time has come.”
O’Neill also classified Cosby as a “sexually violent predator” – which means his name name will appear on a sex-offender registry – and quoted from Constand’s statement to the court, in which she said Cosby took her “beautiful, young spirit and crushed it.”
This is the photo Cosby was forced to pose for prior to being placed behind bars:
For the record, Cosby declined the change to speak before the sentence came down; afterward,he sat laughing and talking with his defense team.
His wife of 54 years, Camille, was not in court.
Constand, meanwhile, smiled broadly upon hearing the punishment and was hugged by others in the courtroom.
Her five-page long impact statement, which likely played a role in Cosby’s sentencing, described her reaction to the sexual assault as follows:
“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 described Cosby as a mentor who used their relationship to assault her at his mansion in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, in January of 2004.
Constand was just one of over 60 women who have accused Cosby of a similar pattern of behavior.
He has strongly denied their claims over the years and vowed to appeal his conviction in Constand’s case, which was the only one to result in criminal charges due to the statute of limitations.
A publicist for Cosby echoed his clients denials yesterday afternoon, standing in front of reporters and actually saying:
“They persecuted Jesus and look what happened.”
This same awful person also referred to Cosby’s ordeal as “the most racist and sexist trial in the history of the United States,” adding that Cosby was a victim of a nationwide “sex war.”
Stars across Hollywood, for their part, were not nearly as forgiving. Or insane.
Amber Tamblyn, who has been an outspoken advocate of both the Time’s Up and #MeToo movements Tweeted on Tuesday:
“Bill Cosby has been sentenced to 3-10 years for drugging and sexually assaulting many women over the course of many years.
“His survivors have been sentenced to a lifetime of brutal memories and trauma for daring to exist in the first place. Super fair I guess.”
Added Debra Messing, making a reference to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and the accusations against him:
“Today a PA court deemed #BillCosby a Violent Sexual Predator b4 sentencing him. For decades people maligned &decried his accusers as LIARS. It took 60+ accusers 2 finally bring his survivors justice &vindication.
“Have we learned nothing? #IBelieveDrFord #IBelieveDeborahRamirez.”
Quipped Chelsea Handler: “Bill Cosby is set to serve 3 to 10 years in prison, but when he’s released he’s expected to be nominated to the Supreme Court.”
Albert Brooks also tossed out a joke on social media: “Bill Cosby gets new advertising campaign: Jail-O.”
Cosby’s sentencing is the first major conviction of the #MeToo era.
“This is a very important day. Judgment day has come,” feminist icon Gloria Allred said on CNN. “We’re so very proud of what law enforcement did to make sure we had a just outcome.”
Let’s all hope Cosby dies in prison.