Bill Cosby is hoping to avoid prison time for the felony charges against him.
More than 50 women have accused the former entertainer of sexual assault, and he faces up to 10 years in prison for three counts of felony indecent assault stemming from a January 2004 incident in which a Temple University employee alleges that Cosby drugged and violated her.
Cosby has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him, and his trial is set to begin in June. But a source close to the Cosby family told the New York Post that “Bill won’t be able to convince a jury to let him off.”
“[T]hey’re thinking that the DA will consider Cosby’s age, his medical condition, the fact that he’s paid the victim on the case millions, and the fact that his career is over,” the source continued.
But leniency in such a high-profile case could trigger public backlash. After Stanford University freshman Brock Turner was sentenced to just six months in jail for assault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated person, California Assembly members submitted new bills to the legislature to institute mandatory minimums for the rape of unconscious or intoxicated persons and require those convicted to serve their full sentences. A Rasmussen report found that the majority of Americans agreed the Turner sentence was too light. Perhaps that will influence the outcome of the Cosby case.
