Bill Cosby found guilty of 3 counts of aggravated sexual assault in Constand retrial
According to reports from CNN, Bill Cosby has finally been found guilty in a case stemming from allegations he drugged and sexually assaulted Andrea Constand at his Philadelphia home in 2004. An 80-year-old Cosby faced three counts that carry up to a ten year sentence for each guilty verdict.
It is likely that Cosby will serve the terms concurrently, but a sentencing hearing has not been set and Cosby is out on bail.
After the prosecutors asked Judge Steven O’Neil to revoke bail because he has a private plane and could be a flight risk, Cosby erupted in anger in court, standing up and yelling, “He doesn’t have a plane, you asshole.” O’Neil ruled that Cosby should stay in his home, and because Cosby owns multiple homes in varying states, he should be fitted with a GPS tracker and notify the authorities when and where he will be going.
Last year, the case ended in a mistrial when jurors infamously said they were deadlocked and could not come to an agreement on whether Cosby was innocent or guilty. In this retrial, five additional women testified as “prior bad acts” witnesses, claiming that Cosby had drugged and raped them decades ago.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele told reporters, “What was revealed through this investigation was a man who had spent decades preying on women that he drugged and sexually assaulted, and a man who evaded this moment right here far too long. He used his celebrity, he used his wealth, he used his network of supporters to help him conceal his crimes.”
Some are wondering if the gravity of Tarana Burke’s #MeToo movement has helped Cosby finally face some concrete justice for his crimes. If that is true, then one could expect a reckoning in other media spheres where it is far overdue.
Well documented issues are already present with singer R.Kelly, whose longtime management team and lawyer have dropped him in the wake of newer allegations that he runs a sex cult inside one of his Atlanta homes. Additionally, chef and singer Kelis recently alleged that rapper Nas abused her during their marriage, and that they physically fought each other several times in an interview with Spin Magazine.
Time will tell if Cosby’s sentencing is a call for Black Hollywood and the music industry to deal with their own long hidden monsters who are not named Bill Cosby.