‘America’s Dad,’ Bill Cosby, guilty of three counts of aggravated sexual assault

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WATCH: He’s gone from America’s Dad to a convicted sex offender.  A jury found Bill Cosby guilty on three counts of aggravated indecent assault. The case revolved around one woman, a Canadian, who accused the actor of drugging and sexually assaulting her. Mary Griffin reports. 

He was once thought of as an America’s dad and the most powerful person in the entertainment world.  Now Bill Cosby leaves a courthouse, clinging to a member of his legal team after a jury found him guilty of three counts of aggravated sexual assault. His victims are ecstatic after years of trying to bring the 80-year-old comedian to justice.

Lili Bernard said Cosby drugged and raped her while he was mentoring her for an appearance on “The Cosby Show”.

“I feel like my faith in humanity is restored,” Bernard said.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said Cosby used his celebrity, and his wealth to help him conceal his crimes.

“Andrea Constand came here to Norristown for justice. And that’s what 12 jurors from Montgomery Country provided her,” Steele said.

This case centred on Constand, a former employee of the Temple University basketball team. She testified Cosby drugged, and sexually assaulted her when she visited his home in 2004.  Her lawyer, Gloria Allred, said she had no doubts about the outcome.

“I thought she was very clear. She was very detailed. She, I think, did an excellent job,” Allred said.

But Cosby’s legal team remains defiant.   Tom Mesereau hinted at an appeal. “We are very disappointed. We don’t think Mr. Cosby is guilty of anything. And the fight is not over.”

Now living on Vancouver Island, University of Victoria History Professor Rachel Cleves grew up in the same Brooklyn neighbourhood as some of Cosby’s co-stars.

“I grew up watching, first Fat Albert. and then the Bill Cosby show. So, I definitely grew up with Bill Cosby as a TV dad in my life,” Cleves said.

But the verdict, in her opinion, is overdue.

“What’s astonishing to me is that it’s required a #metoo movement to gain a conviction against Cosby. When the actual details of the allegations seem so unambiguous to me,” Cleves said.

Cosby is out on a $1 million bail with no date yet set for his sentencing.

Mary GriffinMary Griffin

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