Summary: Bill Cosby’s rape case ended in a mistrial this weekend. What will happen next?
Bill Cosby escaped a criminal conviction on Saturday when Judge Steven O’Neill announced that the TV star’s rape case had ended in a mistrial. After days of deliberations, the jury said that they were deadlocked, and the prosecutor stated that he would seek a second trial.
Cosby, who will turn 80 next month, was accused of drugging and raping Andrea Constand in 2004. She was an employee at his alma mater, Temple University, and they frequently interacted because of her work. She claims that in 2004 she visited him alone at his home, and he gave her pills, which left her paralyzed. As she was unconscious, she said that he groped and penetrated her.
Cosby acknowledged that he had cheated on his wife with Constand, but he said that their relationship was consensual. Cosby’s defense team pointed out that after the alleged rape, Constand continued speaking with Cosby. She countered that it was because she had to for her job.
Cosby had once been a beloved comedian, starring in the hit television program The Cosby Show. However, his reputation had been tarnished over the years as almost 60 women have come forward and accused him of sexual assault. The Constand case is the only one that fell within the statutes of limitations, and Philadelphia District Attorney Kevin Steele was voracious in fighting to take down Cosby.
Steele has already said that he will seek a second trial, and Constand’s lawyer, Dolores Troiani, told ABC News that the way to win was to do things differently.
“The key to retrying a case is to do it differently the second time, because the defense expects you to do it the same way,” said Troiani, whose client is on board for a retrial.
Judge O’Neill has ordered the jurors to not speak to the media on why they could not reach a decision after 52 hours of deliberation and a week of testimony. Although he gave the jurors this instruction, one alternate who did not decide on the outcome spoke to NBC News.
Mike McCloskey, a school cafeteria director, said that he was not surprised by the hung jury.
“We had a hard time deciding where to go for dinner,” said McCloskey. “We had so many personalities in the room.”
McCloskey added he would have voted to convict.
“I felt like we let Andrea down,” McCloskey said. “I felt like we could have brought justice. But unfortunately being an alternate, I didn’t have a decision in that matter.”
In addition to bracing himself for a new criminal trial, Cosby is also battling civil cases, accusing him of sexual battery or defamation. Several of the women who had accused him of rape were in attendance at his trial.
According to ABC News, Judge O’Neill could schedule the retrial within weeks. One of Cosby’s lawyers, Brian McMonagle, said that he believes Cosby would be acquitted again in a second trial.
“What I would say to all of Mr. Cosby’s fans and some of the folks on the other side of this, we have a wonderful criminal justice system in this country,” McMonagle said on ABC’s Good Morning America. “Trust it, believe in it, and I’m confident that if this case is retried, he’ll be acquitted.”
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