Well, this is certainly big news:
Two people familiar with a prosecutor's decision say Bill Cosby will be charged in the investigation of an alleged sexual assault more than a decade ago.Cosby reportedly has no comment at this time. I bet he doesn't.
The two people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because Montgomery County prosecutors had yet to make the announcement.
It's the first criminal charges against Cosby over his conduct with women, which has received new scrutiny in the past year.
A former Temple University employee told police the comedian drugged and violated her at his home near Philadelphia. Prosecutors are set to announce the results of their investigation Wednesday morning.
A previous district attorney declined to charge Cosby in 2005.
The 78-year-old comedian previously said under oath that he had consensual sexual contact with the woman.
Prosecutors reopened the case as new evidence was unsealed in the woman's related civil case and dozens of women came forward with similar accusations.
The statute of limitations has run out on many of the other cases. In this case, there is a cooperating victim, still time to bring charges, a prosecutor who evidently gives a shit, and an enormous amount of public pressure, care of numerous victims who were willing to publicly tell their stories, despite the backlash they knew they would get, and have, by making allegations against a famous man. After a male comedian mentioned the existence of those allegations, which obliged people to pay attention in a way they refuse to pay attention to abused women. Extraordinary.
Shakesville is run as a safe space. First-time commenters: Please read Shakesville's Commenting Policy and Feminism 101 Section before commenting. We also do lots of in-thread moderation, so we ask that everyone read the entirety of any thread before commenting, to ensure compliance with any in-thread moderation. Thank you.
blog comments powered by Disqus