Bill Cosby to get two-day sentencing hearing

Weeks after he was convicted, disgraced entertainer Bill Cosby has been given a date to learn his fate. Cosby’s sentencing date on three counts of indecent sexual assault will come in Montgomery County Court on September 24-25, a judge ordered on Tuesday.

Typically, sentencings in Montco are scheduled two to three months after a verdict. While the courts did not release a comment, the delayed sentencing for Cosby is likely due to an expected high volume of legal filings and appeals over this case before a sentence is handed down.

Cosby, 80, who is awaiting a sex offender evaluation, is legally blind and currently on house arrest in the Cheltenham mansion where in 2004 he molested former Temple employee Andrea Constand.

Cosby’s sentencing won’t just be legally complicated. The two-day hearing could be longer than usual to allow for multiple victims to make victim-impact statements. It’s also expected to draw massive crowds of media, protesters and supporters to Norristown. The first day of Cosby’s retrial famously attracted a bare-chested feminist protester who jumped the gate and rushed Cosby before being tackled by police.

Montgomery County Sheriff Sean Kilkenny was quoted telling TMZ that it will be “100 percent all hands on deck” for Cosby’s sentencing. Dozens of police officers, county detectives and court officers are expected to be on the scene for Cosby, TMZ said. No specific threats have yet been reported against the aged entertainer.

He was convicted of three counts that carry a maximum sentence of 10 years each, but it’s unclear if he’ll see any jail time, experts said.

“What’s the cost benefit analysis to locking him up? Is he a danger to society? You’re going to have to spend a lot of time to protect him from other offenders,” said Rutgers-Camden criminal justice professor Ross Allen. “There’s a good chance the judge is going to let him stay out while the appeals process is underway, that’s two or three years. At what point do they say the biggest punishment he’ll ever face is the loss of his legacy?”