After more than 50 women came forward over the past decade accusing him of sexual assault, Bill Cosby is finally going to trial.
Pennsylvania district judge Elizabeth McHugh heard enough evidence to officially allow Cosby’s criminal trial to begin. However, it could be more than a year before that trial actually starts, according to The Chicago Tribune.
The trial will focus on Cosby’s alleged assault of former Temple University women’s basketball coach Andrea Constand. According to her 2005 police statement that was read in court, she considered Bill Cosby to be her mentor for several years. One night in 2004, when she went over Cosby’s house, Constand said she was stressed out. He gave her three blue pills to help “take the edge off” and handed her a glass of wine. Soon enough, she felt frozen and blurry, unable to move or talk.
That’s when Cosby began to grope her and assault her. She woke up with her bra undone early the next morning. In horror, she ran out of the house—but not before Cosby offered her a muffin.
Constand was the first woman to come out and accuse Cosby of assault in 2005, according to Philly Magazine. She was soon followed by dozens of others women who had experienced similar things, dating all the way back to the 1960s.
The 78-year-old actor and comedian faces three counts of felony aggravated indecent assault, according to CNN. Each one of these charges carries a 10-year maximum sentence in prison, but the judge can also choose to combine these into just one 10-year stint.
Although more than 50 women came forward to accuse Cosby of sexual misconduct, his lawyer Brian McMonagle thinks, of course, that the judge made a bad decision. “There was no evidence of a crime here. And the inconsistencies that plagued this investigation from the beginning continue to plague it now. This case should end immediately,” said McMonagle to CNN.
Others are more than happy to see that Bill Cosby will finally answer to the justice system. “I’m glad the case is going to go forward. I’m glad he will have to face someone in court,” said Heidi Thomas to Fox 31 Denver. Thomas is just one of the more than 50 women who came forward saying Cosby had sexually assaulted them.
Heidi Thomas & @LiliBernard, 2 of the Cosby accusers we talked to last fall @DatelineNBC, join me live @MSNBC 3pmET pic.twitter.com/PX1fxrW82C
— Kate Snow (@tvkatesnow) May 24, 2016
When Thomas was just 24 years old, she met with Cosby for one-on-one training. She portrayed a drunk girl during a “cold read” of a script when Cosby allegedly handed her a glass of wine. According to Thomas’ account, she took just one sip before losing consciousness—then woke up to Cosby sexually assaulting her.
Thomas never had the chance to report Cosby because she was scared it would impact her acting career. “[Constand] is really doing this for the rest of us who haven’t had the opportunity and never will. So she is our champion,” Thomas said to Fox 31.
The pre-trial hearing was just the first step of many to finally get justice for the dozens of women who accused Cosby of assault. The actual trial is unfortunately still months away. In the meantime, let’s hope that the court puts an end to Cosby’s pattern of assault.