No extra testimony at Cosby sentencing

NORRISTOWN » Prosecutors lost their bid to present testimony of numerous women who accused actor Bill Cosby of uncharged sexual misconduct when he is sentenced next week on charges he drugged and sexually assaulted one woman at his Cheltenham mansion in 2004.

In an order issued on Thursday, Montgomery County Judge Steven T. O’Neill denied the request of District Attorney Kevin R. Steele, adding that “following an exhaustive review of Pennsylvania case law” he found “no authority that would permit this court to consider such uncharged conduct.”

Last week, Steele filed court papers asking O’Neill for permission to admit evidence at the actor’s Sept. 24 sentencing hearing of “uncharged criminal acts” allegedly committed by Cosby.

Steele hinted prosecutors intended “to present numerous witnesses who will testify that defendant sexually abused them” and claimed the witnesses would provide testimony that is relevant to the “proper assessment” of Cosby’s “character, background, dangerousness to the community and rehabilitative needs.”

Steele argued that under state law, information concerning alleged “uncharged criminal conduct” can be part of a sentencing hearing “even if it involved a different victim and did not result in conviction.”

But defense lawyer Joseph P. Green Jr. argued “evidence of uncharged conduct is not relevant” and suggested such testimony would be “unfairly prejudicial, distracting and wasteful of the court’s time.”

O’Neill has set aside Sept. 24 and 25 for what is expected to be the mostwatched sentencing hearing ever in a county courtroom. The sentencing hearing is expected to attract worldwide media attention.

Cosby, who turned 81 in July, faces a possible maximum sentence of 15 to 30 years in prison on the three counts of aggravated indecent assault of which he was convicted by a jury in April. However, state sentencing guidelines could allow for a lesser sentence.

Green, of West Chester, is being assisted by lawyer Peter Goldberger of Ardmore. Cosby retained Green in June.

Green replaced lawyers Thomas Mesereau Jr. and Becky James, of Los Angeles, Kathleen Bliss, of Las Vegas, and Lane Vines, of Philadelphia, who represented Cosby during his April retrial.

A jury of seven men and five women convicted Cosby on April 26 of the three felony charges in connection with sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, a former Temple University athletic department employee, after plying her with “three blue pills,” at his Cheltenham mansion in January 2004.

O’Neill has allowed Cosby to remain free on bail, 10 percent of $1 million, to await sentencing. The judge said the entertainer must wear an electronic monitoring device while he remains free. Cosby cannot leave the state without approval of the judge.

It was the second trial for Cosby. Cosby’s first trial in June 2017 ended in a mistrial when a jury selected from Allegheny County couldn’t reach a verdict.

During the 14-day retrial in April, the jury comprised of Montgomery County residents found that Cosby sexually assaulted Constand while she was unconscious

ASSOCIATED PRESS In this April 26 file photo, Bill Cosby, center, leaves the the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown. Cosby will be sentenced on Sept. 24, five months after he was convicted of sexual assault. Cosby’s lawyers had asked to delay sentencing until December.