Bill Cosby Found Guilty on 3 Counts of Sex Charges in Norristown, Pennsylvania

Bill Cosby was found guilty on Thursday, April 26, 2018 on three counts of indecent aggravated assault.

A jury found Bill Cosby guilty on Thursday April 26, 2018 of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his home in suburban Pennsylvania 14 years ago. The conviction could result in Cosby, age 80, spending the rest of his life in prison.

The verdict came after a two-week retrial in which prosecutors put five other women on the witness stand who testified that Cosby drugged and violated them, too. One of those women asked him through her tears, “You remember, don’t you, Mr. Cosby?”

Although Cosby did not testify, he and his lawyers claimed that his encounter with Ms. Constand was part of a consensual affair, not a criminal assault.

On the second day of deliberations at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Philadelphia, the jury returned the conviction of Cosby of three counts of aggravated indecent assault against Andrea Constand, while he was a Temple University employee who he had mentored.

Bill Cosby sat back in his chair after the verdict was announced and stared down quietly. Several female victims in attendance, who accused Bill Cosby of abusing them, briefly cheered, then became quiet. Some accusers burst into tears.

Bill Cosby was convicted of three counts –– penetration with lack of consent, penetration while unconscious, and penetration after administering an intoxicant. All three counts are felonies, each punishable by up to 10 years in state prison. However, the sentences could be served concurrently. Cosby will be required to register as a sex offender, turn in his passport, and while out on bond will be requiremed to wear a GPS monitor if he leaves his home. Sentencing is expected 60 to 90 days from today.

Judge Steven T. O’Neill praised the jurors, calling it “an extraordinarily difficult case” and commenting on their effort, “You have sacrificed much, but you have sacrificed in the service of justice.” Montgomery County D.A. Kevin Steele also expressed thanks to the jurors, stating justice was done.

Today’s conviction involved the second time a jury had considered Bill Cosby’s suspected criminal sexual assault. His first trial during Summer 2018 ended with a deadlocked jury after six days of deliberations.

In both trials Cosby’s legal team claimed Andrea Constand was lying about a consensual, sexual relationship. Lawyers had depicted Bill Cosby as a flawed man, and an unfaithful husband — now married 54 years — who shattered his fans’ illusions with his infidelity. Their defense claimed he committed no crime. During this second trial his lawyers focused on the financial troubles of his victim, saying Ms. Constand was attempting to extort money from Cosby, who they claim had been trying to help Constand with a career in broadcasting.

From September 1984 to April 1992, Bill Cosby played obstetrician, Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable, a moralizing public figure in the popular sitcom “The Cosby Show” with theme song “Kiss Me.”

The verdict finalized the tarnished reputation of Bill Cosby’s character and six-decade career as a comedian and actor. In recent years, Cosby’s TV shows, films, and recorded stand-up performances have been shunned. The conviction is likely to bring the end to broadcast of the programs.

Gloria Allred, surrounded by victims, celebrated the verdict outside the court building on this sunny Spring day. Cosby’s caravan headed back to his mansion in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania after posting $100,000 bond (10% of $1,000,000), according to ABC Action News, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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