NORRISTOWN, Pa. (Reuters) - Bill Cosby was marched out of court in shackles on Tuesday after a judge branded him a "predator" and sentenced him to between three and 10 years in prison for sexual assault, capping the downfall of the once-beloved comedian known as "America's Dad."
Cosby, 81, was found guilty in April of three counts of aggravated indecent assault for the drugging and sexual assault of his one-time friend Andrea Constand, a former Temple University administrator, at his Philadelphia home in 2004.
He is the first celebrity to be convicted of sexual abuse since the start of the #MeToo movement, the national reckoning with misconduct that has brought down dozens of powerful men in entertainment, politics and other fields.
Cosby must spend at least three years in a Pennsylvania prison before he becomes eligible for supervised release, though he could end up behind bars for up to a decade.
Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas Judge Steven O'Neill ordered Cosby to be jailed immediately, denying Cosby's request for bail while lawyers appeal the conviction.
He was escorted out a back door of the courthouse with his hands and feet shackled and driven away in a black sport utility vehicle.
Minutes earlier, Constand left court with her arms folded, a smile spreading across her face as other women who have accused Cosby came to hug her. Several of those women spoke to reporters in the rain outside the courtroom.
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