Bill Cosby’s sentencing hearing Monday is set to start with testimony about his sex offender evaluation.
Bill Cosby’s sentencing hearing Monday is set to start with testimony about his sex offender evaluation — and a fierce debate over whether he should be deemed a “sexually violent predator.”
The stakes are high given the community alerts and public shaming the designation would trigger.
A state sex offender board has recommended that the trial judge designate Cosby a sexual predator. Philadelphia defense lawyer Demetra Mehta says the term amounts to “the modern-day version of a scarlet letter.”
Cosby’s lawyers say sex-offender reporting laws remain in flux because courts have found them unconstitutionally vague.
Cosby faces a maximum 30-year prison term after a jury found he’d drugged and molested a woman at his estate near Philadelphia in 2004. However, state sentencing guidelines suggest about one to four years.
