Former comedian, actor, and musician Bill Cosby was convicted Thursday of three counts of sexual assault in connection with the 2004 rape of a female basketball player.
At 1:30 p.m. local time, a Norristown, Pennsylvania jury found the TV icon guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault. According to the decision, Cosby drugged then sexually assaulted former Canadian national basketball team player Andrea Constand at his home outside of Philadelphia back in 2004.
Constand accused Cosby of giving her three blue pills he claimed were herbal dietary supplements. After being rendered unconscious, Constand said, she woke up to find the former actor assaulting her.
A year ago, a previous jury was deadlocked and failed to render a verdict against Cosby, resulting in a mistrial.
Aside from Constand, five other women testified to the court that Cosby had committed “prior bad acts” against them, including similar attacks involving the use of date-rape drugs followed by sexual assault.
The jury deliberated for 14 hours over the course of two days beginning Wednesday before they handed in the guilty verdict, rejecting the defense’s claim that Constand had made up the accusations in an attempt to blackmail the former actor for money.
Cosby could potentially face 30 years in prison and $75,000 in fines, but could be given concurrent sentence, allowing him to serve all three of the sentences simultaneously. While each count of aggravated indecent assault could land Cosby 10 years in prison, the court may not only allow him to serve all three sentences concurrently, but also sentence him to less than the maximum of 10 years, given his age. Cosby turns 81 in July.
After the verdict was read, the former Cosby Show star launched into a rant against District Attorney Kevin Steele when Steele requested that the court revoke Cosby’s bail.