Bill Cosby Found Guilty On All Charges

NORRISTOWN, PA — A jury in Montgomery County has found Bill Cosby guilty on all charges related to drugging and molesting a woman at his Cheltenham home in 2004. Cosby, 80, was convicted on three counts of aggravated indecent assault, and faces up to 10 years in prison for each count for the conviction. Sentencing is forthcoming.

The verdict brings to a close decades of speculation amid accusations from dozens of women in a case that has toppled a man who was once a figurehead of comedy and considered "America's father." It marks the first conviction of a powerful male figure accused of sexual assault following a year that brought reckoning to numerous men across politics, media, and entertainment.

Cosby was "expressionless" as the verdict was announced, according to multiple sources inside the courtroom. However, he began to show "visible emotion" as he looked down, reporters inside the room noted.

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He then became angry, screaming and cursing, when bail was discussed, The Associated Press reported. Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele argued that Cosby was a flight risk because he has a plane. That's when Cosby stood up and began yelling, the AP reported.

Ultimately, Cosby was released from the courthouse on a $1 million bond, according to reports, but was ordered to remain in Pennsylvania pending sentencing.

The conviction was celebrated by accusers and their supporters.

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"The Cosby verdict is a long-awaited and symbolic victory for many survivors of sexual violence," National Sexual Violence Resource Center Chief Public Affairs Officer Kristen Houser said in a statement. "It brings hope that justice can be served when victims are finally ready to enter the court system, that it is possible for the truth to be heard, even if it is years after the assault."

Gloria Allred, an attorney for dozens of Cosby's accusers, said that this verdict made her happier than any verdict in her 42-year career.

"Finally we can say that woman are believed," she told reporters in a press conference following the verdict. "Not only in #MeToo, but in a court of law, where they were...attacked, smeared, denigrated...where there were attempts to discredit them. When all was said and done, women were finally believed."

Allred added that the verdict was a victory for women everywhere.

"The MeToo movement has arrived, and is well, and is living in Montgomery County and throughout the country."

Allred also read a statement from Janice Baker Kinney, one of five of Cosby's accusers who was allowed to testify against him in the trial.

"I am overwhelmed with joy, relief, and gratitude," Allred read Kinney's words. "Joy that justice finally has been served. Relief that this toxic chain of silence has been broken, and we can now move forward with our heads held high as survivors and not victims."

Andrea Constand, 45, who was an acquaintance of Cosby when she was an employee at Temple University, was the first woman to bring the charges against Cosby to a criminal trial. One of Cosby's other accusers who was present in the courtroom when the verdict was first read, Lili Bernard, broke down in tears and was escorted from the courtroom, according to reports.

“The thousands of individual voices within the #MeToo movement have created a powerful chorus that is being heard," Houser added. "We hope there is a renewed sense of purpose for the women who bravely testified in this trial and endured being blamed, shamed, and made out to be con artists. Your experiences matter, as does your willingness to speak about them. You were heard by the jury and thousands of other survivors."

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Outside the courtroom, celebratory whoops rung out from numerous supporters of Constand, who swarmed around media and security.

Cosby's spokesperson, Andrew Wyatt, typically a vocal figure to the media, did not make a statement as he departed the courthouse with Cosby in his black SUV at around 2:45 p.m.

Cosby's defense team rested their case late on Monday, and closing arguments began on Tuesday. The jury panel, consisting of seven men and five women, deliberated for about 14 hours before making their decision, 6ABC reports.

Cosby's first trial last June ended in a mistrial when the jury was deadlocked after deliberating for more than 50 hours. One of the jurors from the 2017 trial who went public said that that trial ultimately came down to whose word could be trusted: Cosby's, or Constand's. There was not enough evidence to go on anything other than that, he said.

Many things were different about the retrial. Cosby was represented by a new legal team after the key attorneys from his first trial, Brian McMonagle and Angela Agrusa, resigned. He was represented this year by a team led by former Michael Jackson attorney Thomas Meserau.

Perhaps more pertinently, however, five of Cosby's former accusers were allowed to testify in the retrial, following a ruling by Judge Steven T. O'Neill on March 15. The order was a significant victory for the prosecution, which was only allowed the testimony of one of Cosby's prior accusers, Kelly Johnson, in the 2017 trial that ended in a deadlocked jury.

Much of the defense's work in the 2018 retrial aimed at undermining Constand's trustworthiness, particularly citing the length of time following the alleged incident it took for her to report it to authorities. The additional four voices that were allowed to tell the jury how Cosby assaulted them was likely one of the most consequential differences from the 2017 trial to 2018.

This is a breaking story. More information will be provided as it becomes available.

BREAKING: Bill Cosby lashes out at prosecutor in expletive-laden tirade in courtroom after conviction in sexual assault retrial.
— The Associated Press (@AP) April 26, 2018

Cosby looking down at the defense table, appearing sullen. But showing now visible emotion
— Jeremy Roebuck (@jeremyrroebuck) April 26, 2018

Cosby accuser Lili Bernard had to be escorted out of court after it is announced that Cosby is guilty on all counts, since she was so overcome with emotion. Cosby has stayed nearly expressionless.
— Bobby Allyn (@BobbyAllyn) April 26, 2018

Gasps in the courtroom from Cosby's survivor Lili Bernard. Cosby stared blankly ahead. Jury is unanimous in their decison.
— Claudia Rosenbaum (@CJRosenbaum) April 26, 2018

Breaking: Bill Cosby allowed to leave courthouse on a 1 million dollar bond. He awaits sentencing. @6abc #BillCosby #CosbyRetrial
— Sharrie Williams (@WilliamsSharrie) April 26, 2018

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