Cosby free after jury fails to agree on trial verdict
NOT SO FUNNY: Actor and comedian Bill Cosby gestures from his car outside the court where a judge ruled a mistrial in his sexual assault prosecution A US judge yesterday declared a mistrial in Bill Cosby’s sex assault case after the jury said it could not reach a verdict, but prosecutors said they would retry the 79-year-old actor.
Cosby still faces other legal woes, including civil lawsuits.
About 60 women have accused him of sexually assaulting them, effectively ending the long career of the entertainer once known as “America’s dad” for his role in the 1980s TV hit The Cosby Show.
The jurors, who spent 53 hours debating whether Cosby was guilty or innocent, told Judge Steven O’Neill they could not reach unanimous verdicts.
The court in Norristown, Pennsylvania, tried Cosby on three counts of aggressive indecent assault. Andrea Constand said he assaulted her at his home near Philadelphia in 2004.
The case was the only one to result in a criminal trial, largely because the other accusations were too old to prosecute.
The court decision yesterday was a victory for the comedian, who avoided up to a decade in prison.
It was also a blow to the dozens of women who have said he sexually assaulted them. Several accusers were in court all week awaiting a verdict, wearing buttons that read “We stand in truth”. Cosby has said any sexual activity was consensual. He still faces at least four civil lawsuits from at least 10 accusers.
Cosby’s role as Heathcliff Huxtable in The Cosby Show made him a household name, bolstering a reputation built on years of family-friendly standup comedy routines. He said before the trial that he hoped to resume his performing career after this case was resolved.
The jury appeared unable to agree on which version of the night in question to believe: Constand’s or Cosby’s. —