Photo Credit: Gilbert Carrasquillo – Getty Images
A grand jury has decided in 14 hours that comedian Bill Cosby is guilty of all three counts of aggravated indecent assault.
Cosby is convicted of drugging and assaulting Andrea Constand in a Philadelphia suburb in 2004. Cosby, now 80 years old, faces up to 10 years in prison for each count.
The case was built on the testimony of Andrea Constand, a former employee of Temple University’s women’s basketball team. Cosby, a respected trustee of the university, drugged and assaulted Constand in his home when she visited him seeking career advice.
At the time of assault, now 14 years ago, Constand was 30 and Cosby was 66. Ms. Constand says Cosby gave her pills that left her immobile, drifting in and out of consciousness. He said he had only given her Benadryl.
Cosby’s defense team confirmed his involvement, but argued the interaction was consensual.
The case represents the first high-profile victory for the #MeToo movement, as similar accusations are expected to translate into the courtroom.
The defense’s star witness was an academic adviser at Temple, who testified that Ms. Constand had confided in her in 2004 that she could make money by falsely claiming that she had been raped by a powerful person. Mr. Cosby paid Ms. Constand $3.38 million in 2006 as part of a confidential financial agreement following a lawsuit she had brought against him after she originally declined to bring charges.
Ms. Constand denied ever speaking with the advisor.
Mr. Cosby has admitted to having given women quaaludes in an effort to have sex with them.
Since the first trial against Cosby last year, five additional accusers have testified in the second trial. One of which was former supermodel, Janice Dickinson who said the assault took place in 1982 in a hotel room.
However, the defense pointed out that Dickinson wrote a memoir including Cosby, and she completely left out the accused assault.
If Cosby serves prison time, it is likely to be concurrently.
Take a look at the footage below:
Bill Cosby’s attorney: “We are very disappointed by the verdict… the fight is not over.” https://t.co/7Me50zypbC pic.twitter.com/4lyHJYoR0k
— CNN (@CNN) April 26, 2018
“Today, this jury has shown that what the ‘Me Too’ movement is saying is that women are worthy of being believed.” One of Bill Cosby’s accusers, Lili Bernard, speaks after he is found guilty in his trial https://t.co/cuS4TosFPw pic.twitter.com/ld3TLBInt5
— The Situation Room (@CNNSitRoom) April 26, 2018
— Twitter News (@TwitterNews) December 11, 2017