Bill Cosby's fate remained unclear after the disgraced entertainer was found guilty by a Pennsylvania jury on three counts of aggravated indecent assault Thursday, which could land him in prison for the next 30 years, according to National Public Radio.
Cosby, now 80, was charged with drugging and sexually violating a woman 14 years ago on a couch in his Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, home, the broadcaster said. He will be sentenced within 90 days following a pre-sentence investigation, NPR noted.
Michael Donio, a retired New Jersey superior court judge, told USA Today that Cosby will likely get fewer than five years in prison, but will not avoid incarceration altogether. Donio said an average person with no prior criminal record would likely get five years in the case.
The former creator of the hit 1980s sitcom "The Cosby Show" remains free on $1 million bail until sentencing.
Cosby's attorneys would argue that a prison would be unable to take care of Cosby, who has said he is completely blind, Donio told USA Today. If successful, it's possible that Cosby could be sentenced to house arrest or probation, he added.
The comedian could end up in the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Eagleville, Pennsylvania, if he is sentenced to one or two years, USA Today noted. If the sentence runs longer, Brian Zeiger, a Pennsylvania defense attorney, said he will end up in state prison.
Forbes magazine wrote that previous studies have shown that the justice system is more lenient toward older offenders, with 31 percent of judges in one study openly stating that they actively consider age in determining sentences.
Cosby has already been fitted with a GPS tracker as he remains on bail in his Philadelphia home, despite prosecutors wanting him jailed immediately suggesting that he was a flight risk, Forbes said.
Cosby attorney Tom Mesereau suggested that the entertainer could continue his fight through the appeals process, NBC News reported.
We are very disappointed by the verdict," Mesereau said after the verdict, per NBC News. "We don't think Mr. Cosby's guilty of anything, and the fight is not over."
Cosby still faces other civil cases that force him to return to court in the near future. Celebrity attorney Lisa Bloom, who is representing former model Janice Dickinson in a defamation case against Cosby, said on Twitter that case will continue.