Bill Cosby will reopen the sexual assault trial

A.D

the essentials in short

• Bill Cosby is said to have abused dozens of women over the course of his career.
• In the state of Pennsylvania, the 85-year-old was released unexpectedly in 2018.
• Now the former stand-up comedian is also asking for a rerun of his civil trial.

In the summer, Bill Cosby (85) was found guilty of sexual assault by a California civil court. The process could now be repeated. According to the “Hollywood Reporter”, among others, the lawyer of the star of the fall comedy, Jennifer Bonjean, is pushing for a new presentation.

The reason: Victim Judy Huth (64) revised her previous statement. Just a month before the guilty verdict, she claimed that Cosby’s rape took place in 1975, not 1974.

However, changing the year during the ongoing trial would have deprived his client of the opportunity to investigate. Furthermore, witnesses who could have exonerated Bill Cosby could not have been questioned. That was a “major disadvantage” and would have vanished their entire defense strategy, “an alibi defense”.

Bill Cosby fined $ 500,000

The US actor was found guilty of sexually abusing Huth in a civil trial on June 21. He was sentenced to pay a $ 500,000 fine. The civil trial has been dragging on since 2014.

The jury believed the victim’s claims: in 1975, the then-teenager and a friend of Cosby’s were lured into the Playboy mansion. He had previously met the two girls in a park. In the mansion, he separated Huth from her friend and forced her to engage in sexual activity.

Since the deed is prescribed, there has been no criminal prosecution. In California, however, the Child Victims Act allows for the prosecution of already prescribed offenses, at least under civil law. Despite the verdict, Cosby’s lawyers continued to plead innocent.

Sentence 2018

In 2018, Cosby was found guilty of aggravated sexual assault by a Pennsylvania court. He was sentenced to three to ten years in prison. More than 60 women had made similar allegations, but most of them were considered prescribed.

In 2021, after about three years in prison, Cosby was unexpectedly released from prison amid strong protests. The 2018 verdict was overturned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court due to procedural error. Cosby was released on the same day.