News

Bill Cosby found Guilty on All Three Counts of Sexual Assault

By  | 

A jury has found Bill Cosby guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his home in 2004. The former actor and comedian faces up to 10 years in prison for each of the three counts he has been charged with. At the time of his conviction, Cosby was relatively silent when hearing the sentencing, but shortly afterwards, he stood up and yelled at prosecutors who wanted to revoke his bail. Prosecutors said he was a flight risk and owned a private plane, to which Cosby responded “He doesn’t have a plane you asshole,” in a booming voice.

The motion to revoke his bail was dismissed, but Judge O’neil ruled that Cosby should not leave his home under any circumstances. If he wishes to travel to another one of his properties around the country, he must first be fitted with a GPS tracking device.

The jury assigned to this case deliberated the case for over 14 hours split over two days before coming to a consensus. The verdict came a year after a previous trial ended in a mistrial as jurors could not come to an agreement. According to Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele, “What was revealed through this investigation was a man who had spent decades preying on women that he drugged and sexually assaulted, and a man who evaded this moment right here far too long.” He continued “He used his celebrity, he used his wealth, he used his network of supporters to help him conceal his crimes.”

Cosby’s attorney, Tom Mesereau, has already stated plans to appeal the verdict. “We are very disappointed by the verdict. We don’t think Mr. Cosby’s guilty of anything and the fight is not over.”

The case against Cosby stemmed from testimony from Constand who was a former employee for the women’s basketball team at Temple University. After visiting Coby’s home in 2004 to ask for career advice, she testified he drugged her and sexually assaulted here. In addition to Constand’s testimony, five other women came forward to testify that Cosby had drugged and assaulted them decades ago.

Throughout the trial, Cosby’s legal team launched a plan to aggressively defame Constand’s credibility, along with saying the sexual encounter was consensual. Cosby’s defense argued that Constand was a “con artist” that was after a piece of his vast wealth.

Attorney Gloria Allred, a representative for the many women who have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct, said “We are so happy that finally we can say, women are believed. And not only on #MeToo but in a court of law where they are under oath, where they testified truthfully, where they are attacked. After all is said and done, women were finally believed.”

DA Steele applauded the courage displayed by Constand for coming forward and enduring the trials. “She showed courage. She stepped. She went forward … and we got the right result. And she stayed through this.”

Avid writer and reader with a curious mind. I'm always looking to get the most out of life! Follow me on Twitter @whatsaschoon

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *