Mistrial declared in Cosby sex-assault case
Jury left deadlocked
NORRISTOWN, Pennsylvania — Bill Cosby’s trial on sexualassault 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 Philadelphiaarea home in 2004 is “entitled to a verdict.”
The jury deliberated more than 52 hours over six days before telling Judge Steven O’Neill 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.
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.”
Cosby’s career and good-guy image were already in tatters by the time his chief accuser took the stand and described how Cosby gave her pills and then penetrated her with his fingers as she lay paralyzed on a couch, unable to tell him to stop.
But the jurors clearly struggled with their verdict, telling the judge on Day 4 they were at an impasse. O’Neill instructed them to keep working toward a unanimous decision. On Saturday, they came back and said they were hopelessly deadlocked.
It was the only criminal case to arise from allegations from more than 60 women that cast Cosby as a serial predator who gave drugs to women before violating them.
He did not take the stand in his own defence, leaving it to his attorney to argue Cosby and Constand were lovers sharing a consensual sexual encounter.
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 show business. He was charged shortly before the statute of limitation was set to expire.