Bill Cosby's petition for parole denied after he refuses therapy

Thu, May 27, 2021, 3:59 PM·2 min read
By David DeKok

HARRISBURG, Pa. (Reuters) -The Pennsylvania Parole Board has turned down comedian Bill Cosby's petition to be released from a 10-year prison sentence for aggravated indecent assault, citing his refusal to participate in a therapy program for sexually violent predators.

Laura Treaster, a spokeswoman for the state parole board, confirmed the decision, which was made on May 11 and first reported on Thursday by Nicole Weisensee Egan, author of the book "Chasing Cosby," on her Facebook page.

Cosby spokesman Andrew Wyatt said his client expected to be turned down. “We knew he was going to be rejected. He called me and told me that if he didn’t take the course, he would be denied," He has maintained his innocence from the beginning.”

Cosby, now 83, would have become eligible for parole on Sept. 25 after completing the three-year minimum term of his sentence. He was sentenced to 3 to 10 years in prison and designated a sexually violent predator on September 25, 2018, after being convicted earlier in the year of the rape of Andrea Constand, his former friend at Temple University, in 2004.

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