Andrea Constand, the woman that accused comedian Bill Cosby of sexual assault, expressed her disappointment at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturning his conviction in a statement Wednesday.
“Today’s majority decision regarding Bill Cosby is not only disappointing but of concern in that it may discourage those who seek justice for sexual assault in the criminal justice system from reporting or participating in the prosecution of the assailant or may force a victim to choose between filing either a criminal or civil action,” the statement said.
Cosby was convicted on three counts of aggravated indecent assault in April 2018 after Andrea Constand alleged that the 83-year-old actor drugged and sexually assaulted her in his Pennsylvania home in 2004. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned his conviction Wednesday over a procedural promise made by former Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor that the actor would not face prosecution.
Castor had argued in 2005 that unless Cosby confessed to the sexual assault allegations, there was not enough evidence to convict the actor and therefore concluded that he would not be prosecuted if he agreed to testify in a civil suit, according to court documents. However, the current District Attorney Kevin Steele went forth with prosecuting Cosby. (RELATED: Celebrities And Political Commentators React To Bill Cosby’s Overturned Sexual Assault Conviction)
Constand, along with her civil counsel attorneys Dolores Troiani and Bebe Kivitz, said that they were “not consulted” about the promise originally made by Castor.
“We were not consulted or asked our thoughts by Mr. Castor concerning any agreements concerning immunity or anything, and we were not made aware if there were any such discussions,” the statement wrote.
Our statement. pic.twitter.com/px4Y5cqYaZ
— Andrea C. she/her/they/them (@ConstandAndrea) June 30, 2021
Court records confirmed that Castor did not communicate the details of the case to Constand, who learned of the situation from a reporter at her civil attorney’s office.
Constand and her attorneys argued in their statement that Castor’s decision was not a “formal immunity agreement,” meaning it did not protect Cosby from future prosecution. The Court, however, ruled that Castor’s previous decision had to be upheld by the current District Attorney.
“The Court acknowledged that the former District Attorney’s decision not to prosecute Mr. Cosby was not a formal immunity agreement and constituted at best a unilateral exercise of prosecutorial discretion not to prosecute at the time. The Court also acknowledged that it agreed with the lower court’s credibility determinations, but nevertheless precluded a future prosecution, which included additional evidence developed in the civil case,” Constand and her civil counsel wrote.
The statement concluded by expressing gratitude towards the other women that came forth with allegations, D.A. Steele and the prosecutors that fought for Cosby’s conviction despite his release.
“Once again, we remain grateful to those women who came forward to tell their stories, to DA Kevin Steele and the excellent prosecutors who achieve a conviction at trial, despite the ultimate outcome which resulted from a procedural technicality, and we urge all victims to have their voices heard,” the statement said.
