Bill Cosby has been found GUILTY on three counts of aggravated indecent assault in his Pennsylvania sexual assault retrial.
He now faces up to 30 years in prison.
The jury, made up of seven men and five women, took about 14 hours to deliberate.
via VICE News:
The retrial began two weeks ago, after the first trial ended in a deadlocked jury last year. The 80-year-old entertainer, best known as the father in “The Cosby Show,” faced the same charges he did during his mistrial: drugging and assaulting Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his home over a decade ago. Cosby pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The retrial featured many of the same aspects as the first case — but with a few key differences. To start, the judge allowed more witnesses to testify than the first trial. Jurors heard from six women — who, all but Constand, were blocked from speaking at the last trial. They all said Cosby drugged them before sexually assaulting them
Cosby even admitted during the trial that he used quaaludes before sex decades ago, although two drug experts offered conflicting opinions of Constand’s account of the evening.
The jury also heard from another witness and former Temple University employee, Marguerite Jackson, who said Constand lied about the assault just for the money and fame. Prosecutors painted Jackson as a friend of Constand, but she was barred from testifying at Cosby’s first trial because Constand said she didn’t know her.
In another major deviation from the last trial, the judge ruled that attorneys on both sides could discuss the $3.4 million settlement Cosby paid Constand back in 2006 as part of a civil lawsuit. The settlement has been public information since at least 2016, when Cosby sued Constand and demanded that she pay him back for violating their confidentiality agreement when she cooperated with police, but Cosby didn’t the settlement included in his first case. The actor, however, lifted his objections, which allowed the full value as evidence during his second trial.
We’re actually surprised by this outcome — not that he doesn’t deserve it, but high-profile celebrities seem to have a way of getting off easy.
