Bill Cosby was (finally!) found guilty of his sexual assault crimes from 2004. Hopefully this brings Andrea Constand, a survivor, some peace.
Cosby drugged Constand with pills he had slipped into her wine. They had a sexual encounter, even though Constand had a girlfriend at the time. Cosby said the sex was consensual and did not use any pills. He also had the nerve to claim she was accusing him just to receive monetary compensation.
In 2005, Bruce L. Castor Jr. claimed there wasn’t enough evidence to charge Cosby. In response, Constand sued Cosby. After hearing Constand’s story, a few other women were inspired to come forward with their stories of assault by Cosby.
Later that year, Cosby admits to getting methaqualone pills, with the intention to use them to coerce women into having sex with him. Quaaludes are a sedative and hypnotic medication, and easily could have kept Constand from restraining Cosby. He originally said the pills were Benadryl. For some ABSURD amount of money that hasn’t been released to the public, Constand agreed to sign a nondisclosure agreement. Everything was quiet for nearly a decade.
Hannibal Buress broke the silence, and called Cosby out as a rapist in one of his stand-up comedy performances, inspiring even more women to come forward and expose Cosby.
After the Montgomery County district attorney was replaced, Cosby was arrested in 2015. The case would expire after 12 years, which meant that if the case wasn’t picked up by 2016, it would be lost forever. Thankfully, Kevin Steele revisited the case.
Max penalty is 10 years per count and a $25000 fine.
There was a mistrial declared last summer. After 53 hours of discussion, no decision could be made. It was retried this year, and he was found guilty of all three of his aggravated indecent assault counts against Constand. He’s also facing suits against Judy Huth and Janice Dickinson, who accused him of raping them in the 1980s.
He currently faces a one million dollar bail and must remain under house arrest for the next couple of months before facing his sentencing. YES, he DOES get to relax in his gigantic home after all of this. However, it’s likely he’ll receive 30 years in prison afterwards, so the pros outweigh the cons.
This prolonged trial further emphasizes the point that even powerful women like Andrea Constand can fall victim to the horrors of sexual assault. Those same women, no matter how high their social standing may be, can be disappointed by the justice system because of the way sexual assault changes the perception of victims. Constand was constantly told her story was inconsistent. Members of the jury refused to believe her. While many women stay silent because of these repercussions, Constand was motivated to get the justice she (and the 60+ other women who accused Cosby of doing similar disgusting actions) deserved. Even though it took her the system far too long, Constand did receive justice, and Cosby was finally exposed as the piece of trash he is.