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 Cosby, 80, best known as the lovable father from the 1980s TV
hit "The Cosby Show," faces up to 10 years in prison for each of
three counts of aggravated indecent assault against Andrea
Constand, 45, following a three-week trial at the Montgomery
County courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania.
After maintaining decorum throughout the trial, Cosby exploded
following the verdict when prosecutors asked the judge to take
him into custody, saying he was a flight risk in part because he
owned a plane.
"He doesn't have a plane, you asshole!" Cosby responded in a
booming voice as he leapt to feet.
District Attorney Kevin Steele later remarked that with the
outburst, "You got to see who he really was."
As the verdict was read, Cosby looked down with a sad
expression. Lili Bernard, one of his many accusers, began
sobbing. Constand sat stone-faced.
Judge Steven O'Neill ruled Cosby could remain out of jail on $1
million bail pending sentencing at a later date, as long as he
surrendered his passport and remained at home.
Cosby then left the courthouse with his lawyers and publicist.
"The fight will go on," defense lawyer Thomas Mesereau told
reporters, adding he would appeal the conviction.
Sentencing was expected within 60 to 90 days, after Cosby
submits to a "sexually violent predator assessment."
Although he could get up to 10 years for each count, state
sentencing guidelines suggest a term of less than 10 years.
The conviction marks the downfall of a man once celebrated as
"America's Dad" but whose reputation was ruined after some 50
women accused him of similar offenses going back decades.
Cosby had been a transcendent figure in show business, coming up
as a black comedian during the civil rights movement of the
1960s and winning over white audiences with a clean routine.
He went on to several successful television series when
African-Americans were largely absent from TV. In "The Cosby
Show" from 1984 to 1992, he played the wise and witty Dr.
Heathcliff Huxtable, the father of an affluent black family.
All the while, his accusers say, he had been drugging and
molesting women.
Only one of those cases was recent enough to be eligible for
prosecution, that of Constand, a former administrator for the
women's basketball team at Temple University, Cosby's alma
mater. She had no comment after the verdict.
"The most important person in our team was Andrea Constand,"
Steele, the district attorney, told reporters. "She was the
first courageous person who stood up in public and went to
authorities and said, 'Bill Cosby drugged and raped me.'"
Attorney Gloria Allred, who represents 33 of the Cosby accusers,
rejoiced that Cosby was found "guilty, guilty, guilty."
"We are so happy that finally we can say, women are believed,
and not only on #MeToo, but in a court of law," Allred told
reporters.
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Other Cosby accusers celebrated the verdict with hugs, cries, and
applause.
"I feel like my faith in humanity is restored," Bernard said.
The seven-man, five-woman jury reached a unanimous verdict after
deliberating for 14 hours over two days.
Less than year ago, a different jury was deadlocked after six days
of deliberations on the same charges, prompting the judge to declare
a mistrial.
Soon after the first trial, a series of women leveled sexual assault
and harassment accusations against men in media, entertainment and
politics, giving rise to the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements that
encouraged women go public with personal stories of abuse, in some
cases after years of silence.
Like many of Cosby's other accusers, Constand said she was drugged
and violated while unable to defend herself.
Cosby has said any sexual encounters were consensual, and his
lawyers portrayed the accusers as fabricating stories in search of
wealth and fame.
"Mob rule is not due process," defense lawyer Kathleen Bliss said,
referring to the #MeToo movement.
U.S. President Donald Trump has been accused by several women of
sexual misconduct, including after the release during the 2016
presidential campaign of a video in which he had spoken in vulgar
terms about trying to have sex with women. He later called it
"locker room banter" and his campaign issued an apology to anyone
who was offended.
Trump, whose inauguration and first anniversary as president were
met with nationwide women's protests, denies accusations of sexual
misconduct and accuses rival Democrats and the media of a smear
campaign. He faces a defamation lawsuit from Summer Zervos, a
contestant on his former reality show who accuses him of sexually
harassing her. Trump's lawyer has said her accusations are false and
politically motivated.
Constand testified she went to Cosby's house to discuss a potential
career change when he gave her three blue pills he said would relax
her.
She said the pills made her feel woozy, and when she was jolted
awake Cosby was digitally penetrating her vagina, touching her
breasts and masturbating himself with her hand.
The prosecution case was bolstered by the five additional accusers
who were allowed to testify, each saying they, too, were drugged and
violated. In the first trial, O'Neill allowed only one accuser
besides Constand to take the witness stand.
(Reporting by David DeKok; Writing by Daniel Trotta; Editing by
Jonathan Oatis and Tom Brown)
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