Sex offender Bill Cosby has been freed on a technicality

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-01/ ... /100257590

Bill Cosby released from prison after sexual assault conviction overturned
Posted 5hhours ago, updated 38mminutes ago
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Bill Cosby smiled and nodded to the media after arriving home from prison.
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Bill Cosby has walked free from prison and returned home, less than two hours after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned his sexual assault conviction.

Key points:
The court found a previous prosecutor had made a deal with Mr Cosby not to charge him
He had been found guilty of sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in his home in 2004
Mr Cosby was released from a state prison in Shippack, Pennsylvania
The decision came after Mr Cosby, 83, had served more than two years of a potential three-to-10-year sentence following his 2018 conviction.

The court found that a previous prosecutor had made a deal with Mr Cosby not to charge him in the case.

He was released from a state prison in Shippack, Pennsylvania, just before 2:30pm on Wednesday local time, a corrections department spokesperson said.

Around an hour later, he arrived at his mansion in Elkins Park, a Philadelphia suburb.

Wearing a short-sleeved shirt, he climbed out of a white SUV and flashed a "V" sign before walking into the house with the assistance of another man.

Mr Cosby smiled and nodded when asked if he was happy to be home, but he did not speak as reporters shouted questions.

"What we saw today was justice — justice for all Americans," his spokesperson, Andrew Wyatt, said.

"Mr Cosby's conviction being overturned is for the world and all Americans who have been treated unfairly by the judicial system."

Bill Cosby with an arm in the arm with his fingers in a V while surrounded by people.
Bill Cosby flashed a "V" sign after arriving home from prison. (Reuters: Rachel Wisniewski)
In a statement, Mr Cosby's accuser in the 2018 trial, Andrea Constand, and her attorneys said they were not only disappointed in the ruling, but concerned it could dissuade other victims from seeking justice.

"Once again, we remain grateful to those women who came forward to tell their stories," they said.

The comedian and actor was best known for his role as the lovable husband and father in the 1980s television comedy series The Cosby Show, earning him the nickname "America's Dad".

But his family-friendly reputation was shattered after dozens of women accused him of sexual assault over a period of decades.

His conviction was widely seen as a landmark moment in the #MeToo movement that brought forth an array of allegations against powerful men in Hollywood and beyond.

Cosby charged despite non-prosecution agreement
Mr Cosby was found guilty of sexually assaulting Ms Constand in his home in 2004 after giving her unidentified pills.

However the Pennsylvania court's majority found that a state prosecutor, Bruce Castor, struck a deal with Mr Cosby's attorneys in 2005 not to bring criminal charges.

As a result, Mr Cosby was unable to avoid testifying as part of a civil lawsuit that Ms Constand brought against him, since defendants can only refuse to testify when faced with criminal prosecution.

Bill Cosby stands among a group of people with his hand raised in the air to wave.
The court found Mr Cosby's rights to due process were violated.(Reuters: Charles Mostoller)
His sworn deposition, which a judge unsealed in 2015, eventually led a new district attorney, Kevin Steele, to charge Mr Cosby later that year, just days before the statute of limitations was set to expire.

That prosecution, the court found, essentially amounted to reneging on Mr Castor's earlier promise not to charge Mr Cosby.

"In light of these circumstances, the subsequent decision by successor DAs to prosecute Cosby violated Cosby's due process rights," Justice David Wecht wrote for the majority.

"There is only one remedy that can completely restore Cosby to the status quo ante. He must be discharged, and any future prosecution on these particular charges must be barred."

Joy and fury at Cosby's release
As Mr Cosby was set free, his appeals lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, said he should never have been charged.

"In terms of the legal case, it's over," Ms Bonjean said.

"District attorneys can't change it up simply because of their political motivation," she added, saying that Mr Cosby remains in excellent health, apart from being legally blind.


In a statement, Mr Steele, the DA who charged Mr Cosby, said he went free "on a procedural issue that is irrelevant to the facts of the crime".

He commended Ms Constand for coming forward and added: "My hope is that this decision will not dampen the reporting of sexual assaults by victims."

Ms Constand and her lawyer did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

"FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted — a miscarriage of justice is corrected!" the actor's Cosby Show co-star Phylicia Rashad tweeted.

Lisa Bloom, a lawyer who represented some of Mr Cosby's accusers, told CNN she was "absolutely disgusted and shocked" by the decision.


"I am furious to hear this news," actor Amber Tamblyn, a founder of Time's Up, an advocacy group for victims of sexual assault, said on Twitter.

"I personally know women who this man drugged and raped while unconscious. Shame on the court and this decision."

Reuters/AP

Posted 5hhours ago, updated 38mminutes ago

Black Lives Matter must be thrilled.

Check must have cleared the bank.

Whoopsie

So he's a sex offender but McCafe isn't?

BillDoe wrote: ↑Thu Jul 01, 2021 12:51 pm So he's a sex offender but McCafe isn't?

Bill Cosby has quite a history of sexual offence allegations spanning decades,

Cosby has been accused by sixty women of rape, drug facilitated sexual assault, sexual battery, or other sexual misconduct. There were also two instances of alleged child sexual abuse, both involving girls 15 years of age. The earliest alleged incidents took place in the mid-1960s, with the rest scattered all the way until the latest in 2008.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Cosb ... ault_cases

John McAfee is whom I think you are referring to as McCafe? I am not fully aware of his criminal history in regards to being a sex offender,

would you care to enlighten me?

One was convicted as such, while the other was subject to an allegation of sexual abuse that didn't go to trial