Image copyright AFP Image caption Bill Cosby (C) arriving in court in Norristown, Pennsylvania
Bill Cosby, the comedian once known as "America's Dad", faces the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison over sexual assault charges.
The two-day sentencing hearing at Montgomery County Courthouse in Pennsylvania starts on Monday.
At a retrial in April, the 81-year-old actor was found guilty of three counts of sexual assault against ex-basketball player Andrea Constand in 2004.
Ms Constand said she had viewed him as a "mentor" before he abused her.
In June 2017, she described being given pills that left her "frozen" and unable to stop Cosby from assaulting her.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption 'Finally, women are believed in court'
"I wasn't able to fight it in any way," she told the court. "I wanted it to stop."
On Monday, she tweeted a passage on containing anger from the New Testament.
Skip Twitter post by @ConstandAndrea Be wrathful, but do not sin; do not let the sun set while you are still angry; do not give the Devil an opportunity.
Ephesians 4: 26 🙌🏽 — Andrea Constand (@ConstandAndrea) September 24, 2018 Report
There is a wide range of possibilities for Cosby's sentence.
He could receive a prison term of up to 10 years for each count - which legal commentators have said is unlikely to happen.
Alternatively, all three counts may be merged into a single term of up to 10 years.
There is no mandatory minimum for the convictions. That means Cosby could be sentenced to probation, or to continued house arrest. The 81-year-old has been free on $1 million bail, but has to wear a GPS monitoring device. He can only leave his home with prior permission, to meet his lawyers or get medical treatment.
One key issue for the sentencing hearing is whether Cosby will be designated a "sexually violent predator". If that happens, he will be obliged to register as a sex offender for life, instead of for a shorter timeframe decided by a judge.
Whatever the outcome, the sentencing marks an astonishing fall from grace for the comedian - the culmination of decades of sexual assault accusations from more than 60 women across the US.
Many see his arrest and subsequent conviction earlier this year as a high-profile legacy of the #MeToo movement - which has seen people across the world come forward to share their stories of sexual harassment and sexual assault.
The comedian's arrest in 2015 predated #MeToo but after a deadlocked jury resulted in a mistrial in June 2017, the subsequent 2018 retrial may have been influenced by the social movement.
The judge allowed five other women to testify in the trial under a "prior bad acts" rule in the state of Pennsylvania, which allows testimony if it reveals a defendant's pattern of behaviour.
Law professor Aviva Orenstein told Reuters news agency that #MeToo "may have influenced the judge's willingness to allow more witnesses".
However, the New York Times reports that the judge has denied a prosecution request to allow women to testify at the sentencing hearing whose allegations of molestation did not lead to criminal charges.
This avoids a repeat of the trial of ex-Team USA gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, who faced testimony from more than 100 women during his sentencing hearing.
Nassar was given at least 300 years in jail for his crimes.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Victims' father attacks ex-Team USA gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar in courtroom
While some will be disappointed not to voice their accusations in court, experts say it could remove a lengthy part of the trial and speed up the hearing.
Cosby could then be sentenced late on Monday, rather than on Tuesday.
Allegations against the comedian date back to the 1960s. That was the decade Cosby began his career, debuting on NBC's The Tonight Show in 1963 as a stand-up comic.
He then rose to fame starring on numerous television shows before establishing himself as a household name with eight seasons of The Cosby Show, beginning in 1984.
Cheetosrule1 on September 24th, 2018 at 12:44 UTC »
This thread title is pretty misleading. The three charges against Cosby each have a maximum of a 10 year sentence. Maximum punishment would be 30 years. There's also been talk that since this was a single incident, the judge may decide to have his sentences served at the same time making the maximum sentence 10 years.
Bill Cosby faces possibly dying while in prison. He does not face a life sentence.
more_ether on September 24th, 2018 at 11:36 UTC »
Seems to be a lot of comments ITT about life in prison as a fitting punishment being negated by his age.
I couldn’t think of much worse at 81 than festering away the last months of my life in a shoebox, ruminating on my life’s work being negated by horrible crimes.
It’s all we’ve got. At this point I’m just hoping that a just, guilty verdict will bring some semblance of repair and closure to the victims and their families.
FutureShock25 on September 24th, 2018 at 11:09 UTC »
At this point, pretty much any time in prison for him would basically be life in prison. It sucks he didn't get caught til towards the end of his life.