Bill Cosby found guilty of sexual assault

NORRISTOWN: US television icon Bill Cosby was convicted of sexual assault Thursday in the first celebrity courtroom battle of the #MeToo era -- a combative retrial that capped his fall from grace and offered vindication to scores of women who accused him of abuses.The frail, 80-year-old Cosby -- once beloved as "America's Dad" -- risks spending the rest of his life behind bars when he is sentenced for drugging and molesting Andrea Constand at his Philadelphia mansion in January 2004.Cosby sat emotionless in the packed courtroom in Norristown, just outside Philadelphia, as the verdict was read out to stifled sobs in the gallery. Cosby's attorney immediately vowed to appeal.T=It was a devastating downfall for the once towering figure in late 20th century American popular culture, the first black actor to grace primetime US television, who hit the big time after growing up as the son of a maid.

Now, he is a convicted sex offender staring prison in the face.Cosby's first trial ended last



June with a hung jury, hopelessly deadlocked after 52 hours of deliberations. But on Thursday, a new sequestered panel, which deliberated for more than 14 hours over two days, found him guilty on all three counts of aggravated indecent assault. Constand, a 45-year-old Canadian former basketball player turned massage therapist, sat with supporters in court to hear the verdict.Each count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. 

Judge Steven O'Neill is expected to hand down a sentence in the next 60 to 90 days.The pioneering African American actor and entertainer, adored by millions for his defining role on "The Cosby Show," sat in silence as the jury announced the verdict that will change his life forever.But after the panel was led out, the Emmy winner -- dogged by allegations of similar assaults against 60 women -- erupted in an expletive-laden tirade when prosecutors argued he was a flight risk.