What to Expect at Cosby Sentencing

Bill Cosby will learn his fate at a sentencing hearing this week—and he could be in prison by Tuesday night. After a two-day hearing beginning Monday in Norristown, Pa., Judge Steven O'Neill will have the option of sentencing the disgraced entertainer to anything between probation and 30 years in prison, the Guardian reports. Cosby was found guilty in April on three counts of aggravated sexual assault for drugging and molesting Andrea Constand in 2004. Since Cosby has no previous convictions, sentencing guidelines recommend one to four years, but O'Neill is not bound by them. The judge will also have to decide whether Cosby should be labeled a sexually violent predator, and whether he can remain free pending an appeal, USA Today reports.

Prosecutors are expected to portray Cosby as a serial predator who belongs behind bars, while Cosby's lawyers are expected to point to his achievements and philanthropy, as well as the fact that he is legally blind and 81 years old, the AP reports. Constand and five other accusers who testified at Cosby's trial may speak at the sentencing hearing, though the judge has rejected a request to allow statements from some of the dozens of other women who accuse Cosby of sexually assaulting them. "I really do hope he does get prison time. He's responsible for his actions, and this is a way to show he’s taking responsibility—whether he wants to or not," accuser Lise-Lotte Lublin tells Time. (The judge has rejected a long-shot request from Cosby's wife.)