Bill Cosby Denied Parole After Refusing to Participate in Treatment Program for Sex Offenders

The Pennsylvania Parole Board has denied Bill Cosby's petition to be released from his three-to-10-year prison sentence.

The 83-year-old disgraced comedian's request was turned down following a virtual interview on May 7 due to in part his refusal to participate or complete a treatment program for sex offenders and violence prevention, PEOPLE can confirm.

Laura Treaster, a spokesperson for the state parole board, tells PEOPLE on Thursday that officials will interview Cosby again after they've "been notified that he has completed his programming."

"According to the Department of Corrections database, Mr. Cosby's maximum sentence date is September 25, 2028," Treaster says.

In a statement released on Cosby's official social media accounts, a representative for the actor said that the parole board's decision "is not a surprise to Mr. Cosby, his family, his friends and/or his legal team."

"It was brought to our attention by Mr. Cosby that over the past months, members of the PA State Parole Board had met with him and empathically stated, 'if he did not participate in SVP [Sexually Violent Predator] courses that his parole would be denied,' " the statement read.

"Mr. Cosby has vehemently proclaimed his innocence and continues to deny all allegations made against him, as being false, without the sheer evidence of any proof. Today, Mr. Cosby continues to remain hopeful that the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court will issue an opinion to vacate his conviction or warrant him a new trial."

Cosby was also denied parole due to a negative recommendation made by the Department of Corrections and a lack of a parole release plan from the actor, the state parole board confirms to PEOPLE.

Cosby was sentenced to three to 10 years in state prison by a Pennsylvania judge in September 2018 — five months after he was convicted of sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, a former Temple University employee, in his mansion in 2004.

His conviction on three counts of aggravated indecent assault came after Constand, 48, said Cosby — a man she had considered a mentor — drugged her and sexually assaulted her in his home. During the trial, Constand and five other women testified that Cosby had engaged in a similar pattern of behavior with them.

Cosby's defense denied the accusations, as well as similar allegations made against him by more than 60 women. The sex that occurred between Cosby and Constand was consensual, he claimed through his attorneys, and the actor has maintained his innocence.

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In June, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that Cosby would be allowed to appeal two issues in the case: the judge's decision to let prosecutors call five other accusers to testify about alleged assaults that were not part of the charges and Cosby's argument that he had an alleged agreement with a former prosecutor who promised that he would not be charged.

At the time, Constand said in a statement regarding the appeal that she has "no doubt that the Supreme Court of PA will do the right thing."

"I respectfully ask the Supreme Court of PA to consider the enormous prospect of putting my perpetrator back into the community after being labelled a convicted sexually violent predator who has shown no remorse for his actions," she wrote.

"While everyone deserves for their cries and appeals to be heard, even convicted criminals, if anyone's cries matter most right now, it's the women who have lifted their voices and selflessly put themselves in harm's way, such as the prior bad act witnesses in my case. They are the true heroes," she added. "Regardless of our national heritage, color, creed or identity we all deserve justice, that is a fact."