Outpouring of Anger, Defiance and Relief

The eyes of America were on Bill Cosby on Tuesday as his trial ended with a 3-to-10-year prison sentence for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his home in 2004.

In the highly anticipated hearing in Montgomery County Court in Pennsylvania, Judge Steven O’Neill also remanded Cosby to custody immediately and denied his request to be released on bail pending appeal.

As news of the sentence spread, accusers and others reacted to the verdict.

A former model, her accusations against Cosby from 1982 did not result in criminal charges.

“The rape is etched into my soul. Therapy has helped some, but it has not helped to restore my innocence. I was never the same. I will never be the same.”

She accused Cosby of raping her in a Detroit hotel room in 1974, and gave an emotional interview to CNN immediately after the verdict was announced.

“Being attacked in 1974 by Bill Cosby — who was at the time my good friend, I thought, my buddy, someone I worked with — was a horrible thing to happen. It’s caused me a lifetime of problems emotionally — work issues, being in the industry, the television business.”

A lawyer who represents several of Cosby’s accusers, she spoke outside the courtroom.

“Mr. Cosby has shown no remorse, and there has been no justice for many of the accusers who were barred from a court by the arbitrary time limits imposed by the statute of limitations.”

The prominent anti-sexual assault group issued a statement praising the courage of the women who spoke out.

“We are grateful that the court understood the seriousness of Cosby’s crime and sentenced him to prison. Let’s hope that the legacy of this case is that victims feel empowered to come forward, knowing that it can truly make a difference in bringing perpetrators to justice.”

Publicist for Cosby, he gave a scathing statement outside the courthouse.

“All three of the psychologists who testified against Dr. Cosby were white women who make money off of accusing black men of being sexual predators.”

Cosby’s wife, in a statement read by her publicist, Ebonee Benson, said evidence in the case had been falsified.

“We have now learned and will prove that Bill Cosby was denied his right to a fair trial because the D.A. of Montgomery County, Kevin Steele, used falsified evidence against him.”

The president of the National Organization for Women, New York, issued a statement that addressed the broader impact of the sentence.

“Bill Cosby seeing the inside of a cell sends a strong message that predators — no matter who they are, from Hollywood to Wall Street to the Supreme Court — can no longer be protected at the expense of victims. The courageous survivors who spoke out and the diligent prosecutors made his trial and conviction possible. They exposed Bill Cosby, and they helped pave the way for the #MeToo movement that is transforming our world.”

The district attorney for Montgomery County spoke to reporters hours after the verdict.

“For decades, the defendant has been able to hide his true self and hide his crimes, using his fame and fortune. He’s hidden behind a character created, Dr. Cliff Huxtable. It was a seminal character on TV and so was the family, but it was fiction. Before Bill Cosby became a convicted felon taken away in handcuffs to begin paying for his crimes, a lot of people believed that that’s who he was. But we know otherwise. He used his acting skills and endearing TV personality to win over his victims and then keep them silent about what he did to them. So now finally, Bill Cosby has been unmasked and we have seen the real man as he is headed off to prison.”