GUILTY, GUILTY, GUILTY! Bill Cosby could spend the rest of his life in prison after being convicted on all three counts of drugging and molesting Andrea Constand in retrial
The jury in Bill Cosby’s sexual assault retrial found the disgraced comedian guilty of sexual assault after 14 hours of deliberation
He was convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004
The jury found him guilty of all on three counts of aggravated indecent assault, and each charge carries a maximum penalty of ten years
Constand was in court to hear the verdict read at Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday afternoon
Cosby did not react to the verdict, and sat in silence with his eyes cast down
The first trial ended in a mistrial when they declared themselves ‘hopelessly deadlocked’ after close to 53 hours of deliberation
By LAURA COLLINS
DAILYMAIL.COM
26 April 2018
Bill Cosby has been found guilty of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand.
Judge Steven T O’Neill repeatedly called for order as the court erupted as the jury delivered its shock verdict, unanimously finding Cosby guilty on all three counts of aggravated sexual assault: administering an intoxicant, rendering his victim unconscious and penetrating her without consent.
The seven men and five women reached their verdict after 14 hours of deliberation and a trial lasting 14 days.
Constand was in court to hear the verdict read at Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania. The alternate jurors filed into the back of the gallery.
O’Neill requested everyone to respect the decorum order that has been in place throughout the trial and to keep order as the verdict was delivered.
The 80-year-old actor now faces spending the rest of his life in prison as each count carries a sentence of up to ten years imprisonment.
Cosby accuser Lili Bernard let out a sob as the foreperson delivered the guilty verdict on each charge.
O’Neill thanked the jury for their service, ‘for removing themselves from their families and lives.’ He told them ‘you have sacrificed much for you country and justice.’
Cosby did not react to the verdict, but instead sat sat in silence with his eyes cast down. His wife was not in court.
Andrew Wyatt, Cosby’s spokesperson who has spoken so vehemently in the disgraced actor’s defense throughout the trial, sat in stunned silence, leaning forward in his seat with his face a mask of misery.
O’Neill discharged the jury at 1.55pm.
The verdict is a devastating blow to Cosby’s lead attorney, Thomas Mesereau – the man famous for securing Michael Jackson’s acquittal in 2005.
But it is vindication for Constand, the five other accusers who testified in this case and the more than 60 others who claim to have been assaulted by Cosby over the years.
It is a career-saving victory for Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele who rode to election on his promise to bring Cosby to justice.
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