Bill Cosby's Lawyers to Fight Designation as a 'Sexually Violent Predator' 

As part of his sentencing hearing set to begin on Monday, Bill Cosby’s lawyers plan to fight a classification as a “sexually violent predator,” the Associated Press reports. This would mean that, in addition to getting his name, image, and town added to Pennsylvania’s public sex offender registry, he would also have to attend monthly counseling, and authorities would warn his community of his presence.

The “sexually violent predator” status applies to people deemed to have a “mental abnormality or personality disorder” prone to repeat violations, and Pennsylvania’s Sexual Offenders Assessment Board has recommended that designation for Cosby. Judge Steven T. O’Neill, who has long presided over the case and the previous mistrial, will ultimately make the call.

Court documents from 2005 show that Cosby admitted to giving Quaaludes to young women he wanted to have sex with (including a 19-year-old), that he offered money to accusers, and that others have reported to the police that he used a modeling agency to “supply” him with victims.

While Cosby has been found guilty of three charges of aggravated assault against Andrea Constand, Judge O’Neill had allowed six others who have accused Cosby of drugging and sexual assaulting them to testify as “prior bad act witnesses.” Heidi Thomas, Kelly Johnson, Chelan Lasha, Janice Baker-Kinney, Janice Dickinson, and Lise-Lotte Lublin recalled vague memories of waking up limp, as Cosby assaulted them, with little awareness of their surroundings.

At least 60 women have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct stretching back to the 1960s. The outcome of next week’s hearings could range from a 30-year prison sentence to going free on bail as Cosby pursues an appeal.