Awaiting Bill Cosby Sentence for Sexual Assault.
BLITZER: We're following breaking news. Moments from now, the disgraced comedian, Bill Cosby, will learn his sentence. He was found guilty in April of three counts of aggravated indecent assault for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand back in 2004. CNN's Athena Jones is live. Athena, what's happening in the court right now?</s>ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf. We are waiting to hear from Judge Steven O'Neill. He is set to announce his decision on what kind of sentence Bill Cosby is going to have to carry out. We know Cosby's lawyers asked that he be sentenced to house arrest. They cited his age. He is 81 years old and legally blind. He has difficulty getting around and he is not self-sufficient. And they've argued he is not a danger to anyone other than maybe himself. They say incarceration would impose an undue burden on him. The prosecution is asking for five to 10 years. That is a maximum sentence. You'll remember the three charges have been combined because they stem from the same event. The maximum is 10 years. Prosecutors have asked for five to 10 years. They also want Cosby to pay a $25,000 fine and other costs, the cost of prosecution, court costs and sheriffs cost. So that is what we're waiting to hear now. Earlier this morning, that same judge, Judge O'Neill, ruled that Cosby will be classified as a sexually violent predator. He will be required to register for life. He will have a lifetime mandatory counseling to deal with that issue and also a notification of the community that a sexual predator lives in the area. That is independent from the sentence. We are still waiting to hear what his fate will be, coming any minute now. Remember, Wolf, this is the first verdict of a celebrity being accused of sexual assault in the "Me Too" era. This is a very big deal. It was a case that was a long time in the making. You will remember the first trial ended in a mistrial. At the second trial, Andrea Constand, his accuser, was willing to come and do a second trial, but they had five other women able to testify and buttress what she was saying in her testimony about being drugged and incapacitated and being sexually assaulted. That is what led to the conviction in April. We are waiting now to see how long Bill Cosby may spend behind bars.</s>BLITZER: Momentarily, we will find out whether he goes to jail at age 81 or not. Stand by, Athena. I want to bring in our legal analyst, Areva Martin, who is joining us from Los Angeles. Areva, you spent a lot of time watching this case unfold. He is either not going to jail or go to jail for five or 10 years. Now that the judge ruled him a sexually violent predator for the rest of his life, what signal does that send?</s>AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Wolf, I think, based on what we have seen from the judge and the cases he's ruled on that are similar to Bill Cosby's, we should expect Bill Cosby to spend some time in jail. What's remarkable about that case, Wolf, is Bill Cosby has never expressed any remorse. He had an opportunity today during the sentencing hearing to take the stand and to ask for mercy, to talk about the things he has done in the community and things he has done in his life, and to ask the judge to give him leniency. He did not do that. He missed that opportunity and passed on that opportunity to do so. And although, legally, the judge can't take that into consideration, that says a lot about Bill Cosby and whether he accepted the harm that he has done to Andrea Constand. We will be looking to see how the judge plays this out in terms of sentencing Bill Cosby, but it's incredible that we have not seen him express any remorse.</s>BLITZER: If he is sentenced, I assume he is immediately taken from the courthouse to prison, is that right?</s>AREVA MARTIN: That's what the prosecutors are asking for. An appeal has already been filed by his team. We should expect them to continue to argue to allow him to stay out on bail pending that appeal. Wolf, I also want to note, not only did Cosby not take the stand in his own defense and ask for mercy, but there were no witnesses put on by the defense to try to paint a picture of him other than as the sexually violent predator that he has been deemed by the court.</s>BLITZER: Areva and Athena, I want both of you to stand by. Bill Cosby sentence, any moment now. Let's take a quick break. We'll be right back.