The classification means Bill Cosby must undergo a lifetime counseling and report quarterly to authorities. His name will appear on a sex-offender registry sent to neighbors, schools and victims.
NORRISTOWN, Pa. — He’s gone from “The Cosby Show” to “Predator.”
Bill Cosby, the comedian once revered as “America’s Dad,” has been deemed a “sexually violent predator” by the judge who will sentence him today to up to 10 years in prison.
The decision comes after a defense expert tried to convince the jurist that the 81-year-old, who claims to be legally blind, was not a danger to the community. Dr. Kristen Dudley, a member of the Pennsylvania Sexual Offenders Assessment Board, previously designated Cosby as a “predator.”
“I find the Commonwealth has a clear and convincing standard,” Montgomery County Judge Steven O’Neill said in court. Cosby showed no reaction — as one of his accusers, Chelan Lasha, pumped her fist in the air in the audience.
The designation means the fallen funnyman will spend the rest of his life in periodic counseling and treatment, in addition to having to register for life with the state police. The public will also be notified of his address, offenses and photo wherever he goes.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele posed a series of standard questions to Cosby about whether he understood the implications of the serious label.
“You understand that you will be required to register with the Pennsylvania state police for the remainder of your lifetime?” he asked
“Yes,” Cosby responded, after asking him to speak up.
On Monday, Dudley testified that given Cosby’s 30-year penchant for “non-consenting women,” she was unable to say whether he was done preying on women .
“It is possible he has already met someone who could be a future victim,” she said.
Steele continued, “Do you understand that if you fail to comply with the lifetime registration requirement, it will be a felony in the first degree or a felony in the second degree?”
“Yes,” Cosby answered.
The actor will learn later Tuesday whether he’ll be sent to the slammer for the 2004 sexual assault of Andrea Constand. He’s been accused by some 60 women of drugging and molesting them.
He faces up to 10 years behind bars.
