Prosecutors ask U.S. Supreme Court to overturn ruling that freed Bill Cosby
(Reuters) - Pennsylvania prosecutors yesterday said they have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to toss out the state court decision that overturned Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction earlier this year.
The 84-year-old comedian and actor was set free from state prison in June, three years after a jury found him guilty of drugging and molesting Andrea Constand, a former employee of his alma mater Temple University, at his home in 2004.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court concluded in a split decision that Cosby should never have faced charges after striking a non-prosecution agreement with a previous district attorney more than a decade before his arrest.
The decision, which reversed the first high-profile criminal conviction since the #MeToo movement began exposing sexual misconduct among powerful men, angered sexual assault victims and their advocates.
Cosby was once known as “America’s Dad,” largely due to his longtime role as the lovable father in the sitcom “The Cosby Show.” But his family-friendly reputation was destroyed after more than 50 women accused him of multiple sexual assaults going back five decades.
Constand’s allegations were the only ones that were not too old to permit criminal prosecution.