Bill Cosby’s sentencing hearing Monday is set to start with testimony about his sex offender evaluation — and a fierce debate over whether he should be deemed a “sexually violent predator.”
The stakes are high given the community alerts and public shaming the designation would trigger.
A state sex offender board has recommended that the trial judge designate Cosby a sexual predator. Philadelphia defense lawyer Demetra Mehta says the term amounts to “the modern-day version of a scarlet letter.”
Cosby’s lawyers say sex-offender reporting laws remain in flux because courts have found them unconstitutionally vague.
Cosby faces a maximum 30-year prison term after a jury found he’d drugged and molested a woman at his estate near Philadelphia in 2004. However, state sentencing guidelines suggest about one to four years.
