SEE IT: Bill Cosby led away from courtroom in handcuffs to yearslong prison sentence

A judge who sentenced Bill Cosby to 3 to 10 years in state prison has denied him bail, meaning that Cosby will head straight to jail following Tuesday’s sentencing hearing.

As CrimeOnline previously reported, Montgomery County Judge Stephen O’Neill handed down the multi-year sentence following Cosby’s April conviction for drugging and molesting Andrea Constand in 2004.

The judge had previously said that Cosby, 81, would be classified as a “violent sexual predator,” and required to go to counseling, register as a sex offender, and submit to monitoring by the state.

Cosby’s defense attorneys unsuccessfully argued that the former TV sitcom star should be spared prison time because of his age and the fact that he was legally blind. But Judge O’Neill insisted that Cosby must serve a harsher sentence than probation or house arrest.

The defense also requested that Cosby be given the opportunity to post bail while his conviction was in the process of being appealed, but the judge said he must be remanded to custody immediately.

“The court’s reason for not granting bail pending an appeal [is because]… he was a risk, and at this stage, I’m just not going to treat him any differently than anyone else that comes through this court. I don’t see why I would,” O’Neill said, according to ABC News.

[Feature image: Mark Makela/Pool Photo via AP]