Yesterday, Bill Cosby was finally found guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault, bringing closure to dozens of women who claimed the comedian “drugged and sexually abused them.” Though the statue of limitations had ended for many of the women, the case the ended yesterday revolved around the “2004 assault of Andrea Costand, who said Cosby had given her pills in his suburban Pennsylvania home that left her incapacitated and then molested her.”
Yesterday, Bill Cosby was finally found guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault, bringing closure to dozens of women who claimed the comedian “drugged and sexually abused them.” Though the statue of limitations had ended for many of the women, the case that ended yesterday revolved around the “2004 assault of Andrea Costand, who said Cosby had given her pills in his suburban Pennsylvania home that left her incapacitated and then molested her.”
The case between Cosby and Costand began back in 2015 when charges were first brought against the comedian. The trial began in June of 2017, though it ended in a mistrial. However, a lot happened in society between the mistrial and the more recent one that ended in a jury verdict, namely the #MeToo movement. This time around when women took the stand to detail how Cosby sexually assaulted them “the jury believed them.” As a result, Cosby is looking at a potential “10 years in prison for each of the three counts against him.”
Inside the courtroom, once the jury delivered its verdict, “prosecutors asked the judge that Cosby be sent to jail immediately and his bail revoked because he has a private plane and could pose a flight risk.” The request ended up eliciting an angry outburst from Cosby in which he shouted, “He doesn’t have a plane, you asshole,” referring to a prosecutor. He added, “I’m sick of him!”
In the end the judge “declined the prosecution’s request, citing Cosby’s age and poor health.” Instead, he ordered Cosby to surrender his passport and released him on a $1 million bond. Sentencing is expected to occur at a later date, “though his lawyers vowed to appeal.”
So what are the details behind the recent case? Well, for those who don’t know, the proceedings involved “Cosby’s alleged sexual assault of a woman named Andrea Constand, in 2004.” According to USA Today, “Cosby was tried on three counts of aggravated indecent assault stemming from an encounter with Constand at his nearby home in 2004. She says he drugged her to the point of near-paralysis and then assaulted her as she lay helpless on a couch.” Constand first reported the alleged assault in January 2005, but the case was dismissed by a Montgomery County district attorney soon after. As a result, Constand filed a civil suit against Cosby, which was settled for an undisclosed amount in 2006.
It settled? Why was a new case opened up against Cosby? Well, not long ago, comedian Hannibal Buress brought up the topic of rape allegations against Cosby, prompting Cosby to once again deny the allegations against him. The subject didn’t just fade into the background as Cosby had hoped, though. Instead, “a U.S. district judge unsealed part of Cosby’s deposition in the civil case, writing, in his decision, that the deposition offered a stark contrast to Cosby’s identity as a public moralist.” How so? In the deposition, “Cosby admitted that he used to procure quaaludes specifically to give to women whom he wanted to have sex with.” Little time passed before 35 women stepped forward, accusing the comedian of sexual assault, prompting last June’s trial and then the one that ended yesterday.
When commenting on the case’s resolution Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele noted the bravery of Andrea Constand and the other women who testified during the trial and said:
“Nineteen women were willing to stand up with us in this prosecution. We are humbled by the courage all of them showed. And we can’t help but applaud and celebrate the five witnesses that had a chance to face Bill Cosby in this case to tell the jury, to tell all of you, what he did to them.”
Sources:
Bill Cosby found guilty of sexual assault
Bill Cosby trial Day 3: ‘He betrayed her:’ Andrea Constand’s mom takes stand
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