After deliberating for 14 hours, a Pennsylvania jury has found Bill Cosby guilty on all three counts of aggravated indecent assault in the case of Andrea Constand, a former employee of Temple University who charged Cosby with drugging and sexually molesting her in 2004. He faces a likely maximum of 10 years in prison.
The jury began its deliberation on Wednesday, March 25, after testimony from five of the more than 50 women who have reported Cosby sexually assaulted them, including model and reality TV star Janice Dickinson. In closing arguments, Cosby’s defense attorneys attacked the character of Cosby’s accusers, accusing them of being obsessed with fame and money and lying for attention. Their harshest insults were reserved for Constand, who they called a “con artist” and “not a good girl.” In response, the prosecution posited Cosby as the real con artist; as prosecutor Kristen Feden told the jury, “He is nothing like the image that he plays on TV. In fact, he utilized that image and cloaked himself so that he was able to gain the trust, gain the confidence of these young women so he could strip them of their ability to say no, administering an intoxicant the same way he administered an intoxicant to Andrea Constand.”