This was neither a vindication nor a victory. So went the judge’s warning to a weary crowd drifting out of a courthouse in Montgomery County, Pennsylvaniamore than five days after a 12-member jury began to deliberate Bill Cosby’s fate.
The mistrial was an uncertain coda to what started as one of the biggest trials of the decade. Cosby, a world-famous comedian, had seen his reputation shredded when more than 50 women accused him of rape and sexual assault, often aided by incapacitating drugs. A public with an evolved understanding of rape – a crime in which victims can take years to come forward – had turned on him.
In late 2015, to great surprise, Cosby found himself facing possible prison time for a crime he
was alleged to have committed a decade earlier. Prosecutors charged him with three counts of aggravated indecent assault for an alleged attack on Andrea Constand, making Cosby one of the most famous people ever to be charged for a crime of sexual violence.So what does it mean now that his trial – on the only criminal charges he is ever likely to face – has ended in a swirl of uncertainty?
The mistrial does not signal an end to Cosby’s legal woes. Immediately after Judge O’Neill declared a mistrial, Montgomery County district attorney Kevin Steele announced that his office would retry Cosby on the same charges.
Furthermore, the prosecution’s doggedness has led some victims’ advocates to say the trial could encourage more victims of sexual assault to come forward.
“Anyone who is in the position of having been victimized in a sexual violence case is going to feel encouraged by a guilty verdict and discouraged by a not guilty verdict,” said Teresa Garvey, a retired New Jersey prosecutor and an adviser to Aequitas, a group that assists prosecutors who are trying sex crimes.
“But what I also saw on this case was a prosecution team that really went the last mile to support this victim.”
Prosecutors fought hard to keep the defense from interrogating Constand’s background, under Pennsylvania’s rape shield law, and called an expert who testified that Constand’s behavior after the alleged assault – her inconsistent memory, her delay in speaking to police – could be explained by the trauma of being assaulted. They also called a toxicologist to corroborate Constand’s testimony about the effects of the pills that Cosby gave her.
“All of that evidence takes some of the burden off any victim that comes forward,” said Garvey. “When you know this is how your case is going to be handled – that the case is not going to rest entirely on your shoulders, it’s not going to be just a he-said, she-said – I think that’s going to be very encouraging for victims.”
In a statement, Kristin Houser of the National Sexual Violence Resource Center echoed district attorney Steele, who said Constand’s appearance in court had achieved much despite the ultimate mistrial.
“The high standard of evidence required for criminal convictions is one reason why the criminal justice system cannot be the only avenue for sexual assault survivors to seek justice,” Houser said. “It remains important for victims to be given the opportunity to tell their stories and for individuals and organizations to better respond to sexual violence and create safer environments.”However, the jury’s marathon deliberations, which at 52 hours wore on longer than the trial itself, mean Cosby’s prosecution could become best remembered for creating a whorl of uncertainty.
While Constand projected confidence on the witness stand, her cross-examination nevertheless revealed inconsistencies in her recollection of an assault. Questions asked by the jury during their week of deliberations suggested that members struggled to define her credibility.
The panel spent no time reviewing the testimony of Kelly Johnson. Johnson gave a wrenching account about a day on which she claims Cosby drugged and molested her. Attorneys for Cosby offered evidence that she had inconsistently stated the year in which she was assaulted.
The same challenges could frustrate 10 other women who hope to face Cosby in court, as many of their allegations are decades old. Judy Huth and Chloe Goins, two California women who claim Cosby assaulted them at the Playboy mansion in separate incidents, are suing in civil court. Huth claims Cosby forced her to perform oral sex when she was 15 years old; Goins that Cosby drugged and assaulted her when she was 18.
Eight women – Barbara Bowman, the supermodel Janice Dickinson, Tamara Green, Angela Leslie, Louisa Moritz, Therese Serignese, Joan Tarshis and Linda Traitz – are suing Cosby for defamation. Each has publicly accused Cosby of sexual assault or rape, which the comedian has denied.
Huth’s case will commence in California later this month. Prosecutors declined to try Cosby on Goins’ allegations because of a lack of corroborating evidence, and for most other accusers the statute of limitations has ended.
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