Bill Cosby Found Guilty Of All Charges In Sexual Assault Retrial
Norristown, Pennsylvania — Bill Cosby, was convicted of sexual assault on Thursday, April 26, after a half dozen women testified that the once loved “American father” on the popular sitcom The Cosby Show drugged and assaulted them.
Although Cosby has faced dozens of sexual misconduct allegations, Cosby was only found guilty of all three counts of aggravated indecent assault against Andrea Constand, a former Temple University employee. Cosby, 80, faces up to 10 years in prison on each count.
Cosby lashed out at prosecutors as they asked Judge Steven O’Neill to revoke his bail, suggesting he was a flight risk.” He doesn’t have a plane, you asshole! I’m sick of it, you asshole!” Cosby exclaimed.
O’Neill said that because of Cosby’s age, and poor eyesight, he is “not going to simply lock him up.” Cosby must give up his passport and remain in his nearby home.
The case was the first celebrity sexual assault trial since the #MeToo movement began; the verdict being one of the first major courtroom victories in relation to the movement.
“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,” Montgomery County District attorney Kevin Steele commented. “He used his celebrity, he used his wealth, he used his network of supporters to help him conceal his crimes.”
Cosby’s attorneys said in a brief statement that they would “very strongly” appeal the verdict. “We are very disappointed by the verdict,” Tom Mesereau, Cosby’s attorney, said. “We don’t think Mr. Cosby’s guilty of anything, and the fight is not over.”