Joseph Green Jr. claims the requirement, which was introduced this year, shouldn't be applied to his client's case.

• Jul 26, 2018

AceShowbiz - Bill Cosby's new lawyer is objecting to prosecutors' request to have the troubled comedian legally classified as a "sexually violent predator" following his rape conviction.

Authorities at Pennsylvania's Sexual Offenders Assessment Board made the recommendation after conducting a full review of Cosby's case at the request of the Montgomery County District Attorney, who successfully tried the embattled star for drugging and sexually assaulting former Temple University employee Andrea Constand during a 2004 incident at his home.

Prosecutors filed a motion on Tuesday, July 24 for a court hearing to discuss the findings of the boardmembers' report, so Judge Steven O'Neill can decide whether or not to implement the predator label, which is given to an offender who has "a mental abnormality or personality disorder that makes the person likely to engage in predatory sexually violent offenses".

However, Cosby's lawyer, Joseph Green Jr., claims the requirement, which was introduced this year, shouldn't be applied to his client's case.

"This is an effort to apply a 2018 law to conduct that occurred prior to 2018," he told the New York Post. "It's unconstitutional to apply it retroactively."

The judge has yet to rule on the matter, but if Cosby is ordered to register as a sexually violent predator, he will be forced to undergo sex offender counselling at least once a month, for the rest of his life, while his neighbours will also receive increased notifications about him upon his release.

Cosby, who was found guilty in April, is currently under house arrest as he awaits sentencing in September.

Constand isn't his only accuser - "The Cosby Show" star has also faced similar historic accusations from dozens of other women in recent years, all of which he has denied.