Cosby found guilty of sexual assault
Actor could get 10 years in prison but will stay home until sentencing
NORRISTOWN, Pa. — A Montgomery County jury has found Bill Cosby guilty of the only criminal charges to emerge from a careerending scandal fueled by dozens of women who accused the entertainer once known as “America’s Dad” of sexual assault.
After about 13 hours of deliberation, the panel of seven men and five women Thursday convicted him of drugging and assaulting Andrea Constand, a former Temple University employee who said she had seen Cosby as a father figure and mentor until the early 2004 night that he accosted her at his Cheltenham Township home.
The 80-year-old entertainer could face up to 10 years in prison. As the jury decision was announced, Cosby offered little visible reaction, but gazed down at the defense table, looking sullen; his spokesman leaned forward, his head in his hands.
Constand sat in the front row, looking ahead as the guilty verdict on three counts of aggravated indecent assault was announced. Some of Cosby’s other accusers in the packed courtroom let out audible sighs of relief; a few began to loudly sob and were removed.
“This has been an extraordinarily difficult case,” Judge Steven T. O’Neill told the jurors, Montgomery County residents who had been sequestered most of the month, as he thanked them for their service. “You have sacrificed much but you have sacrificed it in service to this country, this county and this town. And that is important.”
The verdict delivered the first celebrity conviction of the #MeToo era in a case that in many ways stood at its vanguard and shone a spotlight on the role sexual entitlement, a scandal-hungry media and Hollywood’s casting couch culture played in the ruin of a comedy icon.
But in the end, it was the 13-year-old account of one of Cosby’s very first accusers that now threatens to send him to prison, potentially for the rest of his life.
“Andrea Constand came here to Norristown for justice and that’s what 12 jurors from Montgomery County provided her,” Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said at a news conference. “Today we’re finally in a place to say that justice was done.”
O’Neill is expected to sentence Cosby at a later date — typically within 90 days. After the verdict, Steele had immediately argued that Cosby’s bail should be revoked and he be jailed. He argued that the entertainer has a plane and could flee.
“This is somebody who has unlimited wealth,” the prosecutor contended argued. “I don’t think any amount of bail can assure his presence under these circumstances.”
Cosby spit back, yelling, almost as if to himself: “He doesn’t have a plane, you a-hole.”
The judge rejected the prosecutor’s request, keeping Cosby’s bail conditions the same and ordering him to remain at his Cheltenham home unless approved to go elsewhere. The entertainer also must undergo assessment to determine if he must register as a violent sexual predator.
As court was adjourned, a group of advisers and supporters ran to Cosby’s side. He said nothing as he was led from the room on the arm of his spokesman, Andrew Wyatt.
Later, Cosby’s lead lawyer, Tom Mesereau, vowed an appeal. The fight “is not over,” he said.
Outside the Norristown courthouse, helicopters buzzed overhead and a crowd massed, including many Cosby critics who celebrated his conviction.
“I feel like my faith in humanity has been restored,” said Lili Bernard, one of Cosby’s accusers, as she fought tears on the steps on the courthouse. As Cosby climbed into a waiting SUV, shouts erupted from the crowd: “Women’s lives matter!” “Free Bill!” “Black power!”
The verdict represented vindication for Constand, a 45-year-old Canadian massage therapist. More than a decade ago, the comedian had paid her $3.4 million — a confidential payout — to settle a civil suit based on the same assault claims. But that was after her story had been rebuffed in 2005 by prosecutors who doubted she could stand up to courtroom scrutiny. And then last year another jury was unable to unanimously agree about her claims.
It also delivered a victory to Steele, who through two trials has come under attack from Cosby, his wife and a defense team that accused him of corruptly targeting an innocent man to feed his own political ambitions.
Still, Steele vowed to press on after Cosby’s first trial in June resulted in a hung jury and mistrial. He returned to court April 9 with a case that was in many ways stronger than before.