A jury in the American state of Pennsylvania has found actor Bill Cosby guilty of sexual assault. The ruling was announced Thursday.
Cosby, who is 80 years old, is best known as the lovable father from the 1980s American television series “The Cosby Show.”
He was found guilty of three charges of drugging and molesting a woman in 2004. He faces up to 10 years in prison for each of the three crimes.
The victim, Andrea Constand, is now 45 years old. She is a former administrator for the women’s basketball team at Temple University, the college that Cosby attended. She and Cosby were once friends.
Constand is one of about 50 women who have accused Cosby of sexual assault. Cosby has said any sexual experiences he has had with women were consensual.
The jury’s decision comes less than a year after a different jury could not come to a decision. The judge called it a mistrial.
Government lawyers then decided to retry Cosby.
The first trial ended just before sexual abuse accusations against rich and powerful men led to the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements.
Such movements have led women around the world to go public with their stories of abuse after, in some cases, years of silence.
I’m Alice Bryant.
Reuters news agency reported this story. Ashley Thompson adapted it for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.
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Words in This Story
assault - n. the crime of trying or threatening to hurt someone physically
molest- v. to harm (someone) through sexual contact : to touch (someone) in a sexual and improper way
consensual - adj. agreed to by the people involved : done with the consent of the people involved
