'DISAPPOINTING'
Bill Cosby accuser Andrea Constand slams star’s release and warns it could stop sex assault victims from speaking out
THE accuser in Bill Cosby's criminal trial has spoken out against his overturned sexual assault conviction.
Andrea Constand told that she thought the star's release could discourage sexual assault victims from seeking justice through the courts in the future.
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Cosby served three years of a three-to-10-year sentence at a state prison near Philadelphia before his sexual assault conviction was overturned by Pennsylvania's Supreme Court in a stunning reversal on Wednesday.
Moments after , the comedian said: "I never changed my stance nor my story."
Constand had previously testified in court that 83-year-old Cosby had given her three blue pills and then sexually assaulted her.
She said the court's decision is concerning because "it may discourage those who seek justice for sexual assault in the criminal justice system from reporting or participating in the prosecution of the assailant or may force a victim to choose between filing either a criminal or civil action."
As Cosby was released from prison, it emerged:
- An alleged victim will when she was 15
- Accusers have slammed the release of Cosby with saying "my stomach is lurching"
- Former Cosby Show co-star Phylicia Rashard celebrated his release, saying
Constand and her team added that they were never aware of any agreement between Cosby and the former prosecutor that would grant him immunity.
Three other women who have accused Cosby – Sammie Mays, Sarita Butterfield and Angela Leslie – also about the comedian's release on Wednesday, saying that they, too, think he's dangerous.
Former Playboy Bunny – who accused Cosby of drugging and raping her in 1970, when she was 24 – told ABC: "My stomach is lurching and I am deeply distressed, he's a sociopath, he's a serial rapist."
While more than 50 other women across the U.S. have accused Cosby of sexual assault and misconduct, statues of limitations in their cases make further prosecution unlikely.
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Cosby was released from the State Correctional Institution just before 3pm ET, just two hours after the decision was made.
Learning of the news on Wednesday afternoon, Cosby reportedly said "wow" and "unbelievable."
Returning to his home in Elkins Park, Pa., a grinning Cosby flashed a peace sign and dodged questions from reporters.
The 83-year-old, who was once beloved as "America’s Dad," was convicted of drugging and molesting the Constand, a Temple University employee, at his suburban estate.
Throughout the proceedings, however, Crosby always maintained his innocence, vowing to serve all 10 years rather than acknowledge any remorse over the alleged 2004 incident involving Costand.
In a , Cosby wrote: "Thank you to all my fans, supporters and friends who stood by me through this ordeal. Special thanks to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for upholding the rule of law."
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Judges said there had been a "process violation" by the prosecution as they overturned the conviction - after a previous agreement which lawyers described as "unusual".
Cosby's legal team had made an agreement with previous state district attorney Bruce Castor that he would not be prosecuted in exchange for deposition in 2005 lawsuit brought against him by Constand.
During the deposition he made a series of incriminating statements as he described his sex life and predatory behaviour towards young women.
He described using his fame to push women into sex acts - such as seducing a teenage model who sent him a poem - along with a pattern of drug taking and claiming he was good at picking up nonverbal cues signalling consent.
Castor had thought there would not be enough forensic evidence without Cosby's testimony - and the civil suit was settled for $3million in 2006.
Joel A. Ready, an attorney with Cornerstone Law Firm in Blandon, told : "The agreement itself is unusual. Basically, I'm not going to prosecute you in exchange for you testifying in a civil deposition."
And then ten years later, these documents were unsealed and prosecutors used them in the case against him just days before the 12-year statute of limitations expired in 2015.
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However, the supreme court found that district attorney Kevin Steele, who made the decision to arrest Cosby, should have stood by his predecessor's agreement over the civil case.
The court called Cosby’s subsequent arrest “an affront to fundamental fairness, particularly when it results in a criminal prosecution that was forgone for more than a decade.”
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It said justice and “fair play and decency” require that the district attorney’s office stand by the decision of the previous DA.
Castor acknowledged the only place the agreement was put in writing was a 2005 press release announcing his decision not to prosecute.
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