Cosby victim hails guilty verdict as ‘truth’
The woman Bill Cosby was convicted of sexually assaulting tweeted “Truth prevails” Friday, the morning after a jury came back with a verdict that could send the 80-year-old comedian to prison for the rest of his life.
After decades of whispers, lawsuits, investigations and close calls, Cosby was found guilty Thursday of drugging and molesting Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia mansion in January 2004.
The verdict also led Temple University on Friday to revoke Cosby’s honorary degree from the school. Cosby long served as a leading public face and a key fundraiser for the school, which was among the few that waited to pull honors from Cosby until after the verdict.
Cosby frequently turned out to support the school’s men’s and women’s basketball teams, an interest that connected him with Constand, who managed the women’s team.
Thursday’s ruling was hailed by women’s advocates as a turning point in the #MeToo movement and was seen as vindication by a multitude of women who doubted anyone would ever believe them.
Lili Bernard, who said Cosby sexually assaulted her before giving her a one-time role on “The Cosby Show” in 1992, became so emotional in the courtroom gallery that she accidentally banged her forehead on the bench in front of her. “I’m overcome with gratitude,” Bernard, sobbing, said outside the courthouse.
The verdict in the first big celebrity trial of the #MeToo era sealed the spectacular late-in-life downfall of an entertainer who broke racial barriers in Hollywood on his way to TV superstardom as sweater-wearing, wisdom-dispensing Dr. Cliff Huxtable.
“A very profound and heartfelt thank you to the Commonwealth of PA, Montgomery County, for their service and sacrifices. Congratulations,” Constand said on Twitter. “Truth prevails.”
It was the only criminal case to arise from a barrage of allegations from more than 60 women who said Cosby drugged and molested them over five decades but whose stories were often disbelieved or ignored years before #MeToo put a spotlight on sexual misconduct by powerful men.
Cosby stared straight ahead as the verdict was read but moments later lashed out loudly at District Attorney Kevin Steele after the prosecutor demanded Cosby be sent immediately to jail.