Cosby ‘restored’ after mistrial
Comic’s defence claims victory after jury fails to reach verdict in sex assault case
Bill Cosby’s trial on sexual assault charges ended in a mistrial Saturday after jurors failed to reach a unanimous decision in a case that nevertheless helped destroy the 79-year-old comedian’s image as “America’s Dad.”
Prosecutors vowed to try again, declaring the woman who accuses Cosby of drugging and molesting her at his Philadelphia-area home in 2004 is “entitled to a verdict.”
The jury deliberated more than 52 hours over six days before telling a judge they couldn’t agree on whether The Cosby Show star sexually violated Canadian Andrea Constand after giving her pills that left her woozy and unable to say no or fight back. The judge then declared a mistrial.
Cosby’s team declared victory and went on the attack. “Mr. Cosby’s power is back. It has been restored,” said Andrew Wyatt, his spokesman.
Cosby’s wife of 53 years, Camille, slammed prosecutors for bringing the case to court, calling District Attorney Kevin Steele “heinously and exploitively ambitious” in a statement released after court adjourned.
She also attacked the judge, the accuser’s lawyers and the media.
“How do I describe the judge? Overtly arrogant, collaborating with the district attorney,” said her statement, which was read by Wyatt and tweeted by her husband.
Cosby himself didn’t comment. He remained stoic as the judge declared a mistrial, while Constand doled out hugs to her mother, prosecutors and some of the other women who say the TV star drugged and abused them.
Steele said he’s disappointed the jury was unable to agree on the charges, but vowed to put Cosby on trial again.
Constand “has shown such courage through this, and we are in awe of what she has done,” Steele said. “She’s entitled to a verdict in this case.”
In a statement, her lawyers thanked the prosecution for taking her case and said the trial had “given a voice to the many victims who felt powerless and silenced.”
Constand, now 44, initially went to police about a year after she said Cosby assaulted her, but a prosecutor declared her case too weak to bring charges.
A decade later, another district attorney reopened the investigation after Cosby’s lurid testimony about drugs and sex became public, and dozens of women came forward against one of the most beloved stars in all of show business. He was charged shortly before the statute of limitation was set to expire.