Comedian and convicted felon Bill Cosby has refused to take part in mandatory counseling as he serves time in a suburban Philadelphia prison after being found guilty at trial on three counts of sexual assault.
Cosby called the classes "entrapment" in a statement released by Andrew Wyatt, the 81-year-old disgraced entertainer's spokesman.
Cosby was ordered to undergo mandatory sex offender counseling after being classified by the trial judge as a sexually violent predator.
It's the most severe classification that a convict can be designated under Pennsylvania’s sex offenders law, which requires that an individual be found to have a “mental abnormality or personality disorder” that makes him or her likely to engage in future predatory, sexually-violent offenses.
Cosby will not be eligible for parole until he serves at least three years behind bars -- and his refusal to attend counseling could be factored into any future parole hearings.
Wyatt acknowledged that Cosby “may have to serve the 10-year maximum if the parole board feels he is not taking responsibility or if he doesn’t fulfill the requirements of his sentence.”
(MORE: Bill Cosby sentenced to 3 to 10 years in state prison with no bail during appeals)Wyatt said Cosby has “no remorse” and maintains his innocence.
Cosby’s statement further claimed he is a “political prisoner” who has been incarcerated because “people did not like how he was trying to engage the black community on becoming entrepreneurs.”
Cosby has been serving his sentence at a prison known as SCI Phoenix, a state correctional facility located about 25 miles northeast of Philadelphia. He was recently moved from isolation into the prison’s general population and, according to the statement, Cosby has been treated well, though he has complained that the prison’s food is too salty.
(MORE: Bill Cosby found guilty on all charges)Cosby was convicted last April on the three counts of aggravated indecent assault stemming from a 2004 encounter with Andrea Constand, a former Temple University women's basketball coach. Constand said Cosby gave her three blue pills and sexually assaulted her at his Pennsylvania home after she became physically incapacitated. He was sentenced in September to a minimum of three years in prison and a maximum of 10.