Bill Cosby Found Guilty On All Counts In Sex Assault Retrial
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS/AP) -- Bill Cosby has been found guilty on all counts in his sexual assault retrial.
Read More: Philadelphia Breaking News
The jury deliberated for 14 hours over two days to determine the 80-year-old actor's fate.
CBS3's Joe Holden reports that Cosby showed no emotion when the verdict was read. Cosby was found guilty on three counts of aggravated indecent assault. Each count carries a sentence up to 10 years in prison, as he could now potentially spend his final years behind bars.
He is likely to get less than that under state sentencing guidelines, bust given his age, even a modest term could mean he will die behind bars.
However, when Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele asked to have Cosby's bail revoked because he has a plane, the actor lashed out at the DA, slamming something down on the desk and uttering an expletive.
"He doesn't have a plane, you a******," Cosby yelled at Steele.
The judge ruled that Cosby will remain free pending sentencing, but must remain in the state of Pennsylvania.
After the verdict was read, women who accused Cosby of sexual assault left the courtroom crying and hugging one another.
Outside the courthouse, attorney Gloria Allred thanked the jury for convicting Cosby.
"Justice has been done!" said Allred.
She continued, "We are so happy that finally, we can say women are believed, and not only on 'Me Too,' but in a court of law where they were under oath, where they testified truthfully, where they were attacked, where they were smeared, where they were denigrated, where there were attempts to discredit them and after all is said and done, women were finally believed and we thank the jury so much for that."
Actress Lili Bernard, who accused Cosby of sexually assaulting her, called it a victory for all victims.
"I feel like my faith in humanity is restored," she said outside the courtroom.
Defense attorney Tom Mesereau said they will appeal the verdict.
"We are very disappointed by the verdict and we don't think Mr. Cosby is guilty of anything. The fight is not over," said Mesereau.
Steele said during a Thursday afternoon press conference that Cosby spent decades preying on women and used his celebrity and network of supporters to conceal his crimes.
"Justice was done," said Steele.
Steele got emotional while thanking Constand for her "courage" and "resilience" to speak up against a "powerful man." The DA was choking up and holding back tears while speaking to the media.
Steele added he will look to make Cosby pay for the cost of his trials.
"When a sentencing occurs, there's also an assessment for the cost of prosecution. We expect we will be arguing the cost associated with both the trials, the sequestration, the sheriff's costs for this, will go to the defendant. I will be relying on defense counsel's opening remarks when he was talking about $3.38 million being a paltry sum, or simply a nuisance, so clearly the cost of prosecution in this matter should not be a problem for the defendant," said Steele.
"United we stand," Constand tweeted following the verdict.
Bruce Castor, the former Montgomery County DA who declined to prosecute Bill Cosby released this statement on the guilty verdict:
"My congratulations to District Attorney Kevin Steele and the entire Montgomery County law enforcement team on their successful prosecution of Bill Cosby. The masterful use of Cosby's incriminating civil deposition, plus the other witnesses who came forward and testified after unprecedented publicity, proved to be an unbeatable courtroom one-two combination in buttressing the victim. I wish the prosecution all the best going into sentencing and during the appeal process."
During the first day of deliberations, the jury asked Judge Steven O'Neill the legal meaning of "consent." The judge told the jurors they had already been given the definitions of the charges. On the second day of deliberations, the jury revisited the testimony of star defense witness Marguerite Jackson who said accuser Andrea Constand once spoke of framing a prominent person to score a big payday.
Cosby did not take the stand in his retrial.
Seven men and five women saw a half-dozen accusers testify that the man once revered as "America's Dad" had a sordid secret life that involved preying on women for his own sexual gratification. And they have heard from a witness who says his chief accuser talked about framing a high-profile person to score a big payday.
'I Wanted Him To Feel Something': Topless Protester A Former 'Cosby Show' Actress And Activist
Cosby was charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault — all stemming from Andrea Constand's allegations that he knocked her out with three pills he called "your friends" and molested her at his suburban Philadelphia mansion in January 2004.
Cosby has said he gave Constand 1½ tablets of the over-the-counter cold and allergy medicine Benadryl to help her relax before what he called a consensual sexual encounter.
The jury in Cosby's first trial weighed the evidence for more than 52 hours over six days without reaching a verdict.
This time, both sides gave the retrial jury much more to consider.
Prosecutors were able to call five additional accusers who testified that Cosby also drugged and violated them — including one woman who asked him through her tears, "You remember, don't you, Mr. Cosby?"
Cosby's new defense team, led by Mesereau, countered with a far more robust effort at stoking doubts about Constand's credibility and raising questions about whether Cosby's arrest was even legal.
The defense's star witness was a former colleague of Constand who says Constand spoke of leveling false sexual assault accusations against a high-profile person for the purpose of filing a civil suit. Constand got a civil settlement of nearly $3.4 million from Cosby.
Both juries also heard from Cosby himself — not on the witness stand, but via an explosive deposition he gave in 2005 and 2006 as part of Constand's civil suit against him. In it, Cosby acknowledged he gave the sedative quaaludes to women before sex in the 1970s.
Cosby's lawyers devoted the last two days of their case to travel records they say prove he could not have been at his suburban Philadelphia home in January 2004. They argue that any encounter there with Constand would have happened earlier, outside the statute of limitations.
Cosby's private jet records and travel itineraries produced by Cosby's lawyers do not show any flights in or out of the Philadelphia area in January 2004, but they have large gaps — a total of 17 days that month in which Cosby was not traveling, performing or taping TV appearances.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
