Bill Cosby, 83, has been denied parole, according to CNN. The former comedian and disgraced entertainer is currently serving a 3-to-10-year felony prison sentence for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman in his home in 2004. According to a letter obtained by CNN, the Pennsylvania Parole Board rendered its decision on May 11, citing that Cosby must still “participate in and complete additional institutional programs.†Other factors that contributed to the decision to keep the onetime funnyman behind bars: Cosby’s failure to create a parole release plan and a “negative recommendation†from the Department of Corrections.
According to Cosby’s spokesperson Andrew Wyatt, the comedian refuses to participate in a mandatory Sexual Violent Predator (SVP) course and has no plans to do so. For Cosby to be considered for parole he must successfully graduate from a program for sex offenders and violence prevention. He must also maintain a “clear conduct record†at the SCI Phoenix, in Skippack Township, Pennsylvania, the state prison where he’s incarcerated.
In December of last year, Cosby’s legal team filed an appeal to overturn his conviction, saying that he deserved a new trial. The Pennsylvania State Supreme Court agreed to hear the case and is expected to issue a decision sometime this year.
Cosby has been accused of drugging and raping dozens of women over more than 40 years. He became the first celebrity to be convicted in the era of Me Too in 2018, after his first trial in 2017 ended in a hung jury a year before. He denies all allegations.