Bill Cosby found guilty of sexual assault in retrial

Cosby, 80, faces a maximum sentence of 10 years and a fine of up to $25,000 on each of three counts. </s> Bill Cosby has been convicted of drugging and molesting a woman in the first big celebrity trial of the #MeToo era.

A jury outside Philadelphia convicted the “Cosby Show” star of three counts of aggravated indecent assault on Thursday. The guilty verdict came less than a year after another jury deadlocked on the charges.

Cosby was charged with violating Toronto native and Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. His lawyer called Constand a “con artist” who levelled false accusations against Cosby so she could sue him.

Cosby could get up to 10 years in prison on each of the counts.

Dozens of women have come forward in recent years to say he drugged and assaulted them. Five of the other accusers testified against him at the retrial.

The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission. Constand has done so. </s> Bill Cosby has been sentenced to three to 10 years in state prison for drugging and molesting a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home.

Judge Steven O’Neill sentenced Cosby on Tuesday, five months after his conviction in the first celebrity trial of the #MeToo era.

Prosecutors were seeking a sentence of five to 10 years in prison. The defense asked for house arrest.

The 81-year-old comedian did not make a statement in court. Cosby sat back in his chair, his head on the headrest, as the sentence was read.

The entertainer once known as “America’s Dad” was convicted in April of sexually assaulting Temple University athletics administrator Andrea Constand in 2004.

Constand is one of about 60 women who have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct. </s> The guilty verdict in Bill Cosby’s drugging and molesting criminal trial on Thursday means the 80-year-old comedian is facing some serious prison time. Cosby was convicted on all three counts of aggravated indecent assault for drugging defendant Andrea Constand before he sexually assaulted her at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004, according to multiple media reports.

Cosby’s legal team was expected to appeal the verdict in the comedian’s retrial following a hung jury last year. He was not expected to report to prison immediately, but faces 10 years for each of the three counts he was found guilty on. The sentences could run concurrently, but that was expected to be determined at a later date.

READ MORE: Full Coverage Of Bill Cosby’s Retrial For Sexual Assault

Prosecutors asked the judge to remand Cosby to prison and said he was a flight risk, but he remained free on his $1 million bail that he previously paid. After the prosecutor said Cosby could use his private plane to flee, Cosby reportedly stood up in court and called the district attorney an “asshole.”

If he were to be sentenced to the full 30 years, he would most likely die in prison.

Constand’s testimony earlier this month was pivotal, but it was perhaps the accounts by five additional Cosby accusers that proved to be the difference this time around. In the initial trial that ended up in a hung jury, only Constand’s testimony was allowed.

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The Number Of Black Candidates Running For Governor Just Got Smaller </s> Announcing their verdict on Thursday, a jury outside of Philadelphia found Bill Cosby guilty of all three sexual assault charges brought against him.

In his retrial, 80-year-old Cosby was convicted of three counts of aggravated indecent assault, for drugging and sexually assaulting Temple University employee Andrea Constand in 2004 at his suburban Philadelphia home, according to the Associated Press.

After the jury of five women and seven men left the courtroom, the “Cosby Show” star lashed out at District Attorney Kevin Steele, who was arguing to revoke Cosby’s bail, saying that the defendant had a plane.

“He doesn’t have a plane, you asshole!” Cosby shouted, according to Philly.com. Also stating, “I’m sick of him!” the AP reported.

The judge ruled that Cosby may remain free while awaiting sentencing; he has to remain at his home unless approved to go elsewhere.

The counts include “penetration with lack of consent, penetration while unconscious, and penetration after administering an intoxicant,” according to the He could face 10 years in prison for each charge, the AP reported, though the notes that they could be “served concurrently.”

Cosby’s first trial ended in June 2017 with a deadlocked jury. Prosecutors said they would retry the case. Cosby’s second trial began in April of 2018 and ended today with the jury’s guilty verdict.

More than 50 women have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct, according to CNN. Constand was the first person to go public with her allegations against Cosby. She settled a civil suit with Cosby in March of 2005. Thirteen other Jane Does were attached to that suit. In 2015, a criminal case against Cosby, relating to Constand’s accusations, was opened. </s> NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) -- A judge has sentenced Bill Cosby to three to 10 years in state prison, NBC reports.

Judge Steven O'Neill announced the sentence in court Tuesday afternoon. Prosecutors asked for five to 10 years in prison. The defense wanted house arrest, but District Attorney Kevin Steele says the sentencing rules don't allow it.

A jury convicted Cosby of drugging and molesting a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home. Cosby was convicted after the first celebrity trial of the #MeToo era.

The 81-year-old TV star declined to make a statement at his two-day sentencing hearing. The woman he attacked, Andrea Constand, says she's had to cope with years of pain, anxiety and self-doubt.

The judge ruled that Bill Cosby is a "sexually violent predator."

The classification means that Cosby must undergo lifetime counseling and report quarterly to authorities. His name will appear on a sex-offender registry sent to neighbors, schools and victims.

Judge Steven O'Neill made the decision Tuesday as he prepares to sentence the 81-year-old comedian for drugging and molesting a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.

Cosby's lawyers had fought the "sexually violent predator" designation, arguing that Pennsylvania's sex-offender law remains unconstitutional despite several revisions. </s> Cosby Sentenced To 3 To 10 Years In Prison

Actor and comedian Bill Cosby is sentenced to at least three years in state prison after his conviction earlier this year for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman. </s> Bill Cosby was found guilty of sexual assault in his retrial in Norristown, Pennsylvania, on Thursday.

A jury found Cosby, 80, guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years. He is likely to get less than that under state sentencing guidelines, but given his age, even a modest term could mean he will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

A jury of seven men and five women deliberated for about 14 hours before delivering the verdict, which came less than a year after another trial ended in a deadlocked jury.

Cosby was convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004, when she was an employee at Temple University. A lawyer for Cosby, who has claimed the encounter was consensual, called Constand a "con artist" who leveled false accusations against Cosby so she could sue him.

The verdict came after a two-week retrial in which prosecutors put five other women on the stand who testified that Cosby drugged and assaulted them too. During her testimony, one woman said through tears, "You remember, don't you, Mr. Cosby?"

Prosecutors used Cosby's past admissions about drugs and sex, as well as the testimony of the other women, to help bolster Constand's allegations.

It was the only criminal case to arise from allegations against Cosby from more than 60 women.

"The time for the defendant to escape justice is over," the prosecutor Stewart Ryan said in his closing argument. "It's finally time for the defendant to dine on the banquet of his own consequences."

Cosby left the courthouse following the conviction but was ordered to remain in the state. Prosecutors had pushed the judge to take Cosby into custody immediately, arguing that he was a flight risk because he owned a private plane.

Journalists at the trial reported that Cosby yelled in response: "He doesn't have a plane, you a--hole!"

Associated Press reporting by Michael R. Sisak and Claudia Lauer. </s> The university released a statement about the guilty verdict in Bill Cosby’s sexual assault retrial.

“Temple University respects today’s decision reached by the jury in the Bill Cosby case,” the statement from Brandon Lausch, a university spokesperson, reads. “Today’s decision provides additional facts for the university to consider with the respect to Bill Cosby’s honorary degree.”

Board of Trustees Chairman Patrick O’Connor will recuse himself from “discussions or decisions” about Cosby’s degree. O’Connor represented Cosby in the 2005 civil suit between him and Andrea Constand.

NORRISTOWN, Pa. — Bill Cosby was found guilty on all three counts of aggravated indecent assault on Thursday.

Each count holds a maximum of 10 years in prison.

Jurors deliberated for more than 14 hours on Wednesday and Thursday. They reheard testimony from Bill Cosby’s 2005 deposition, in which he admitted to giving former university employee Andrea Constand Benadryl and having sexual contact with her on the night she alleged he sexually assaulted her.

On Thursday morning, they reheard the testimony of Marguerite Jackson, an academic adviser Boyer College of Music and Dance, from last week. She alleged Constand told her she could falsely accuse a wealthy man of sexual assault for money.

Cosby was accused of sexually assaulting and drugging former Constand in his Montgomery County home in 2004. He was charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault in 2015.

The university declined to comment on the verdict.
Bill Cosby is found guilty of three counts in regard to an aggravated sexual assault of a woman in 2004 in a retrial. He faces a maximum sentence of ten years imprisonment and a fine of up to $25,000 on each count.