Pennsylvania Court Overturns Bill Cosby's Sex Assault Conviction, Actor Released From Prison

A Pennsylvania court overturned Bill Cosby's sexual assault conviction on Wednesday, and he was released from prison, a dramatic reversal in a case that had been the first high-profile sexual assault trial to unfold in the aftermath of the #MeToo movement.

When the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that Cosby, 83, had been denied a fair trial, he had served three years of a three-to-ten-year prison sentence in a maximum-security facility outside of Philadelphia.

Brian W. Perry, one of Cosby's appeal lawyers said his client was released from prison shortly after 2 p.m. and was on his way to his home in suburban Philadelphia.

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The decision threw out prosecutors' case against Cosby, which began with his arrest in 2015 on charges of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his home in the Philadelphia suburbs 11 years ago.

The jury found Cosby guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault against Andrea Constand, whom Cosby had mentored and who was a Temple University employee at the time, at the conclusion of the trial in April 2018. Cosby, who had brightened America's living rooms for years as a beloved entertainer and father figure has been convicted of three counts of aggravated indecent assault against Andrea Constand.

The decision overturned the first major criminal conviction of the #MeToo era, and it came shortly after sexual assault allegations against powerful Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was made, sparking a national conversation about sexual misconduct and assault. At the time, Constand praised the guilty verdict, saying, "Truth triumphs," and the National Organization for Women called it "a notice to sexual predators everywhere." "

The trial verdict was upheld by an interim court in 2019. The state's highest court, the Supreme Court, agreed to hear the case and some of the court's seven justices grilled prosecutors during a hearing in December.

Cosby was investigated in the case of Constand in 2005, and a former Montgomery County district attorney assured Cosby that he would not be charged in the case. While there was insufficient evidence to bring a criminal prosecution, former district attorney Bruce Castor Jr. testified that he assured Cosby that he would be encouraged to testify in a subsequent civil case.

Kevin R. Steele, the Montgomery County district attorney, expressed his hope that the decision would not discourage victims from reporting sexual assaults.

Perry, one of Cosby's attorneys applauded the decision. He stated, "We are overjoyed by the Supreme Court's decision." "To be honest with you, we all thought this was going to be the end of the case. We didn't think he was treated fairly, and the Supreme Court thankfully agreed."

Steele said in a statement that "he was found guilty by a jury and now free on a procedural issue that has nothing to do with the facts of the crime." "I applaud Andrea Constand, Cosby's victim, for speaking out and remaining steadfast throughout this long ordeal, as well as all of the other women who have shared similar experiences."