On Wednesday, Bill Cosby's spokespeople said that the disgraced celebrity—fresh off a recent mistrial for sexual assault—now plans to meet with young people to educate them about being wrongfully accused of the crime because "anything at this point can be considered sexual assault."
Andrew Wyatt and Ebonee Benson, Cosby's aides, made the announcement during a televised interview with Birmingham, Alabama, Fox affiliate WBRC.
"This issue can affect any young person—especially young athletes of today—and they need to know what they're facing when they're hanging out and partying, when they're doing certain things that they shouldn't be doing," Wyatt told WBRC.
He said the 79-year-old would invite young people to discuss the subject in a series of town halls, with one slated for Birmingham sometime this month.
"The statute of limitations for victims of sexual assault are being extended," Benson added. "This is why people need to be educated... a brush against a shoulder, you know, anything at this point can be considered sexual assault."
Cosby's recent trial—stemming from accusations that he drugged and sexually assaulted Andrea Constand at his home outside Philadelphia in 2004—ended in a mistrial Saturday. An anonymous juror told ABC News on Thursday that the jury deadlocked after ten wanted to convict Cosby and two refused, with both sides adamant about their verdicts. They reportedly reached the impasse on two counts: firstly, that Cosby had violated Constand without her consent; and secondly, that he had given her drugs without her consent, making her significantly more susceptible to being violated. After 52 hours of jury deliberation, the judge declared a mistrial.
Constand is just one of more than 60 women who have accused Cosby of sexually assaulting them. But unlike his other alleged victims, Constand is still capable of pressing charges under the statute of limitations. The prosecution said they plan to retry the case, though it's unclear when it may wind up back in court.
In the meantime, it looks like Cosby will be spending his time touring around the country educating America's youth on the dangers of being accused of sexual assault.
Follow Drew Schwartz on Twitter.
from vice http://ift.tt/2sWap6a
via cheap web hosting
Did you know that you can make dollars by locking selected sections of your blog / website?
ReplyDeleteSimply join Mgcash and embed their content locking tool.