Cosby Release ‘Huge Blow’ for #MeToo Movement, Prosecutors Say

Bill Cosby is leaving prison — and some prosecutors are calling the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision to overturn his sexual assault conviction a major blow to  justice in the #MeToo era.

The court’s decision concerned due process: before he was charged in 2015 for a 2004 assault, Cosby was told by a prosecutor in an earlier civil trial that any statements he then made couldn’t be used against him in a later criminal case, though they ultimately were.

The Pennsylvania court said on Wednesday that using these statements violated Cosby’s Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination, precluding subsequent district attorneys from prosecuting him, The New York Times reported. 

In an interview with PBS’s Judy Woodruff, Neama Rahmani, a trial attorney in Los Angeles and a former federal prosecutor, called Cosby’s release a “huge blow and a setback for [the] MeToo movement.”

“[Sexual assault] victims are hesitant to come forward,” Rahmani said. “When they do, prosecutors don’t take these cases, even though they’re righteous cases, because they’re afraid of losing and because of proof issues.”

“Now you have these victims who have testified not only once, but twice, at very public criminal trials to see their abuser walk free, not because he’s factually innocent, but because of constitutional technicality and an agreement made by a district attorney who’s no longer in office.”

Convicted in 2018 for three counts of aggravated indecent assault, Cosby had served three years of a three- to 10-year sentence at a maximum-security prison outside Philadelphia. Andrea Constand, whose complaint that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her at his home in 2004 resulted in criminal charges, is one of over 40 women who have accused the former TV star of sexual assault. 

Sexual assault prosecutors and survivors have called the decision frustrating, infuriating and dangerous. 

USA Today columnist Suzette Hackney called Cosby’s release a “travesty of justice,” comparing his high-powered lawyers’ exploitation of a loophole to the experience of sexual assault survivors with the legal system, where the odds are largely stacked against them.

“Allowing Cosby to escape criminal accountability is a slap in the face for every sexual assault survivor,” Hackney wrote. “And the chilling effect it will bring, particularly during the #MeToo era, could be felt for decades.”

Lawyers are already speculating about the significance of Cosby’s release for other once-powerful men found guilty of sexual assault. Lawyers representing Harvey Weinstein — who was sentenced to 23 years in prison after a New York jury found him guilty of first-degree sexual assault and third-degree rape in 2020 — called his trial “unconstitutional” in an April appeal. 

The appeal calls for a reversal of Weinstein’s convictions, a dismissal of the third-degree rape charge and the ordering of a new trial on the single count of first-degree sexual assault. Weinstein’s legal team said the reversal in Cosby’s case has increased their “confidence” about Weinstein’s appeal, writing in a statement that Cosby’s release proves “courts can be relied upon to follow the law and come to the correct decision.”

Twitter users were quick to compare the legal success of male mega-celebrities to the plight of a different high-profile star: Britney Spears.

Last week, a judge denied a months-old request by Spears’ attorney to remove her father, Jamie Spears, as her sole conservator.

Spears has said her “father enjoys controlling her life,” adding she believes her “conservators, including her father, should be in jail” for the abuse they have inflicted upon her, according to Variety. 

Although the circumstances of their cases differ, Cosby and Spears have faced starkly different legal treatments, which some in Hollywood have pointed out. Cosby’s release, though, is perhaps most painful for survivors of sexual assault. 

Elizabeth Jeglic, a clinical psychologist at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice who specializes in sexual violence prevention, put Cosby’s case in context.

“When you see a high-profile case like Cosby’s become overturned, it can make [survivors] feel helpless and hopeless again,” Jeglic told USA Today. “It takes a lot for somebody to come forward and go through the criminal justice process. And when justice is still not served, it revictimizes survivors all over again and brings back those memories of the trauma itself.”

This summary was prepared by TCR Justice Reporting Intern Eva Herscowitz.