Bill Cosby released after his sexual assault conviction overturned

US authorities on Wednesday released US actor Bill Cosby after a court overturned his conviction for drugs and sexual assault on a woman, dealing a blow to the “MeToo” movement against sexual abuse.

“He was released shortly before 2:30 p.m.” from a prison 35 miles northwest of Philadelphia, a Pennsylvania Prison Service spokesperson told AFP.

Cosby was released shortly after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled the actor was denied a fair trial in 2018, when he was convicted of sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his home in 2004 .

In its ruling, the court recalled that the first attorney general to hear the case had decided not to prosecute Bill Cosby in criminal justice, while encouraging him to testify in civil court in the plaintiff’s case.

The court worked on this testimony against him during his trial when another prosecutor decided to relaunch the case years later, according to the judges.

“When a public prosecutor makes a public decision with the intention of influencing the proceedings of the accused and does so at his own expense (and sometimes on the advice of his lawyer), the denial of the benefit of this decision constitutes a questioning of the founding principle of justice ”, explained the judges.

The actor, whose full name is William Henry Cosby Jr., was sentenced to jail terms of no less than three and no more than ten years, roughly equal to the time he spent behind bars.

The 83-year-old actor, creator of the series “The Cosby Show”, was sent to prison following his conviction in September 2018 to jail with imprisonment for drugging and sexually assaulting Constand.

Cosby argued that her relationship with Constand, who at the time of the incident was an employee of Temple University, was consensual.

Cosby broke racial barriers with her role in the Emmy-winning series “I Spy” in the 1960s, and became a major television star two decades later with her series “The Cosby Show”.

But his artistic glories fell after a string of accusations leveled against him by dozens of women of sexual assault.

Cosby remains a rapist.

Bill Cosby’s conviction was the first against a famous person since the start of the Me Too movement and a victory in the fight against sexual violence against women.

Cosby was one of the most important figures representing the moral values ​​of black Americans, and has long embodied the ideal father in his roles.

“I hope this ruling does not deter victims from reporting sexual assault,” Attorney General Kevin Steele, who initiated the prosecution, said in a statement.

“We believe that no one is above the law, including the rich, the famous and the powerful,” he added.

Although over sixty women accused Bill Cosby of sexual assault, those charges declined over time, and only Andrea Constand’s case turned into a trial.

Even Constand’s trial escaped the statute of limitations for only a few days, when Attorney General Steele decided to press charges. Steele did not respond to AFP calls in this regard.

Lawyer Lisa Bloom, who represents three women who have accused Bill Cosby of sexual assault, commented on Twitter: “He is not released because he is innocent”, but “because a prosecutor has promised him he would not be prosecuted for years.

She indicated that her clients feel “disgust” for what has happened.

In response to a question at the daily press briefing, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said President Joe Biden did not have a “direct answer” to this legal question, explaining that the president has since advocated long the fight against violence against women.

Actress Rosanna Arquette, who accused former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment, tweeted: “Bill Cosby remains a rapist.”