‘My stomach is lurching.’ Cosby accusers react to court overturning sex assault conviction
Some of Bill Cosby’s accusers are reacting to news that the comedic actor, who was sentenced to prison after being found guilty of sexual assault in 2018, would be released from prison following a ruling from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
“My stomach is lurching and I’m deeply distressed at the injustice of the whole thing,” accuser Victoria Valentino told ABC News of the moment she learned a court had overturned Cosby’s conviction.
“He’s a sociopath. He’s a serial rapist,” Valentino continued. “This is a man who has no conscience, he has no sense of remorse.”
Cosby has denied the accusations and maintained his innocence. In a 2019 interview he called his trial a “setup,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned his sex assault conviction based on a prosecutor’s previous decision not to charge the comic.
“When an unconditional charging decision is made publicly and with the intent to induce action and reliance by the defendant, and when the defendant does so to his detriment (and in some instances upon the advice of counsel), denying the defendant the benefit of that decision is an affront to fundamental fairness, particularly when it results in a criminal prosecution that was foregone for more than a decade,” the ruling reads.
“For these reasons, Cosby’s convictions and judgment of sentence are vacated, and he is discharged.”
He was released from SCI Phoenix in Collegeville, Pennsylvania around 2:30 p.m., Fox News reported, citing federal officials.
Janice Baker-Kinney, an ex-bartender who accused Cosby of drugging and raping her in 1982, said she was equally shocked by the decision.
“I’m stunned. And my stomach is kind of in a knot over this,” Baker-Kinney told ABC News on Wednesday. “Just one little legalese can overturn this ... (that) this serial rapist gets to go home today is just stunning to me.”
Baker-Kinney said she had just accepted an invitation to speak to other sexual assault survivors “about their truth” and coming forward in support of other women.
“And not five minutes after I hung up the phone this news came out and it just kind of burst my bubble. ... I am feeling very deflated right now,” she told ABC News.
Heidi Thomas, who was one of the first accusers to testify at Cosby’s retrial in 2018, told NBC News the court’s decision seemed to come “out of the blue.”
“He was just refused parole for not taking part in a sex assault program,” Thomas said, according to the outlet.
Cosby, 83, was set free after spending just over 2 years in prison. He had been convicted of sexually assaulting and drugging Andrea Constand in 2004 and received a three- to ten-year sentence, the New York Times reported.
Sixty women have accused Cosby of sexual assault.
This is a developing story.
This story was originally published June 30, 2021 at 1:51 PM.