Comedian Bill Cosby convicted of sexual assault in retrial

Comedian Bill Cosby was convicted on Thursday on all
three counts of drugging and molesting a onetime friend in 2004, a
decisive victory for prosecutors in one of the first celebrity
sexual-assault trials of the #MeToo era.

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
the three counts of aggravated indecent assault of Andrea Constand,
who is now 45.

Cosby looked down with a sad expression when the Pennsylvania
jury’s verdict was read. Lily Bernard, one of his many accusers,
began sobbing. Constand sat stone-faced.

A former administrator for the women’s basketball team at Temple
University, Cosby’s alma mater, Constand is one of about 50 women
who have accused him of sexual assault. All of the other
allegations are believed to be too old to be prosecuted. Cosby has
said any sexual encounters were consensual.

The unanimous decision by the seven-man, five-woman jury came
less than a year after a different jury deadlocked in his first
trial on the same charges, prompting the judge to declare a
mistrial. Prosecutors decided to retry him.

The first trial ended just before a flood of sexual assault and
harassment accusations against rich and powerful men in media,
entertainment and politics gave rise to the #MeToo and #TimesUp
movements. Those high-profile revelations have encouraged women in
all walks of life to go public with personal stories of abuse, in
some cases after years of silence.

Comedian Bill Cosby was convicted on Thursday on all
three counts of drugging and molesting a onetime friend in 2004, a
decisive victory for prosecutors in one of the first celebrity
sexual-assault trials of the #MeToo era.

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
the three counts of aggravated indecent assault of Andrea Constand,
who is now 45.

Cosby looked down with a sad expression when the Pennsylvania
jury’s verdict was read. Lily Bernard, one of his many accusers,
began sobbing. Constand sat stone-faced.

A former administrator for the women’s basketball team at Temple
University, Cosby’s alma mater, Constand is one of about 50 women
who have accused him of sexual assault. All of the other
allegations are believed to be too old to be prosecuted. Cosby has
said any sexual encounters were consensual.

The unanimous decision by the seven-man, five-woman jury came
less than a year after a different jury deadlocked in his first
trial on the same charges, prompting the judge to declare a
mistrial. Prosecutors decided to retry him.

The first trial ended just before a flood of sexual assault and
harassment accusations against rich and powerful men in media,
entertainment and politics gave rise to the #MeToo and #TimesUp
movements. Those high-profile revelations have encouraged women in
all walks of life to go public with personal stories of abuse, in
some cases after years of silence.