Bill Cosby has been denied parole by the Pennsylvania parole board, after he refused to participate in a therapy programme for sex offenders.
The comedian and former Cosby Show star is serving a 10-year prison sentence for aggravated indecent assault.
Laura Treaster, a spokesperson for the state parole board, confirmed the decision to press after Nicole Weisensee Egan, author of the book Chasing Cosby, wrote about it on Facebook.
The parole board made the decision on 11 May.
Cosby’s spokesperson Andrew Wyatt said: “We knew he was going to be rejected. He called me and told me that if he didn’t take the course, he would be denied. He has maintained his innocence from the beginning.”
After completing the three-year minimum term of his prison sentence, Cosby would have been eligible for potential parole on 25 September.
In 2018, he was convicted of the rape of Andrea Constand, a former friend at Temple University, which took place back in 2004.
According to Treaster, the parole board will only consider Cosby for parole in the future if he completes the therapy for sexually violent predators.
Any parole would also need to overcome a recommendation against his parole issued by the state Department of Corrections.
