Bill Cosby Found Guilty In Sexual Assault Trial: Convicted By Jury On All Three Charges
The verdict is finally in. Bill Cosby has been found GUILTY on all three counts of aggravated indecent assault against Andrea Constand in 2004. We have more details here.
After two days of deliberation, the seven men and five women making up the jury in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania have determined that Bill Cosby, 80, is guilty on all three counts of aggravated indecent assault. The comedian was convicted for the 2004 sexual assault of Andrea Constand, a former employee of Temple University, where Cosby was a trustee. Cosby faces up to 10 years in prison, though considering his advanced age, CNN wagers he’ll serve a shorter sentence. He is out on $1 million bail until his sentencing.
Constand, now 44, argued that Cosby gave her pills and wine and sexually assaulted her while she was in and out of consciousness at his Philadelphia home in January 2004. She had visited Cosby to ask for career advice. Before the retrial was sent to the jury on April 25, Judge Steven O’Neill told them that they are “the sole judges of the facts.” While Cosby’s legal team accused Constand of being a “con artist” who was lobbing false accusations so she could allegedly get a civil settlement, the jury ultimately ruled against the comedian after a 14-hour deliberation.
This is the second time Cosby’s case has been taken to trial. In 2017, another jury spent five days deliberating before O’Neill declared a mistrial. The jurors reportedly worked through 12-hour days in cramped quarters while assessing the facts of the case. A juror previously told ABC News that crying was common during proceedings and that two individuals refused to move on the assault charges, making a guilty verdict impossible.
Although this case is only concerning the charges brought by Constand, Cosby has been accused of alleged sexual assault and alleged rape by more than 60 women dating back to the 1960s. Such alleged victims include the model Janice Dickerson and bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno‘s wife Carla Ferrigno. However, in nearly all these cases the statue of limitations has expired on prosecuting the alleged assailant.
There is no word on when Cosby will be back in court for sentencing at this time.
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