A jury ruled against Bill Cosby in his sexual assault retrial on Thursday, finding him guilty for aggravated indecent assault in all three counts brought against him by Andrea Constand.
The panel of seven men and five women began deliberating on the case on Wednesday morning. The 80-year-old entertainer was accused by Constand, the former operations manager of the women’s basketball team at Temple University, of drugging and molesting her in January 2004.
Cosby looked down when the verdict was called in the courtroom, but showed no other reaction. District Attorney Kevin Steele, meanwhile, asked the judge to revoke bail.
Constand said she became close with Cosby, who was a major supporter of the university, and viewed him as a mentor. She alleged that he abused her trust, however, when he invited her to his home in Montgomery County and offered her three blue pills to help her relax.
She testified that she soon became incapacitated, and then felt his fingers inside of her, but “couldn’t fight him off.” Cosby contended that their sexual relations were consensual.
The latest trial became marked by heated debates between the prosecution and the defense, punctuated by emotional testimonies from more than two dozen witnesses. Cosby did not take the stand.
The charges were first brought to trial last June, but the jury ended in a deadlock on all charges after more than 50 hours of deliberations.
Cosby has been accused of sexual assault by dozens of women in the past few years, but Constand’s allegations are the only ones that became the subject of a criminal case. The charges against Cosby were filed on Dec. 30, 2015 – just days before the 12-year statute of limitations was due to expire.
_______
Follow us on Twitter at @thesignalng
Copyright 2018 SIGNAL. Permission to use portions of this article is granted provided appropriate credits are given to www.signalng.com and other relevant sources.
