Since September 2018, Bill Cosby has been in custody for sexual assault. But now a court has overturned the US comedy star’s conviction.
A US court overturned former television star Bill Cosby’s conviction of sexual abuse. The Pennsylvania State Supreme Court invalidated the 83-year-old’s conviction and ordered his release from prison. “He was released shortly before 2.30 p.m. (local time) today,” said Maria Bivens, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania prison authorities, to the German Press Agency on Wednesday.
Bill Cosby has been in jail for sexual assault since September 2018
The actor, who became world famous with the sitcom “The Bill Cosby Show”, was found guilty in 2018 of sexually abusing a woman in 2004. The court found it proven that Cosby drugged and wronged his victim in his Philadelphia home. Cosby was sentenced to a minimum of three and a maximum of ten years in prison.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the conviction. Among other things, the judges agreed with Cosby’s lawyers that five women should not have been admitted as witnesses to the trial.
Prosecutor had made promises to Bill Cosby
The judges also pointed out that the then investigating public prosecutor had promised after the uncovering of the allegations in 2005 not to bring a criminal case against Cosby if he testifies in a civil case for compensation. The prosecutor’s successor later initiated criminal proceedings. Statements by Cosby from the civil proceedings were used against him.
Cosby has been accused of sexual abuse by more than 60 women, but most of the cases are statute-barred. The actor was revered as “America’s Dad” in the United States for decades. In the role as a lovable doctor and good-natured family man on “The Bill Cosby Show” he was one of the most popular TV stars in the country. His conviction was the first guilty verdict against a celebrity since the #MeToo movement began. (mt / AFP)
