Cosby accuser Lili Bernard: “Today, this jury has shown that what the #MeToo movement is saying is that women are worthy are being believed.” https://t.co/46je3qtTW4 pic.twitter.com/HJXkLx8HRk
— ABC News (@ABC) April 26, 2018
Minutes after a guilty verdict was announced for famed actor and comedian Bill Cosby, one of his accusers took to the media to thank the jury and prosecutors.
Going before reporters on Thursday, accuser Lili Bernard celebrated the verdict alongside other Cosby accusers. The beloved TV dad was found guilty on three counts of aggravated indecent assault for drugging and molesting Andrea Constand at his Philadelphia home in 2004. Cosby faces a maximum of 10 years in prison for each count, CNN reported.
“I thank the jury,” Bernard said in an impassioned speech. ” … But I looked at that jury and there was one young Black man who I looked upon as my son, and I know the disappointment that he felt in looking at a beloved Black male, iconic father figure and being able to yet render a guilty verdict.”
“I thank him,” she added.
Bernard, who claimed Cosby drugged and raped her while she guest-starred on the eighth and final season of “The Cosby Show,” lauded the verdict as a victory not only for Andrea Constand, but for all sexual assault survivors, male and female.
In a subsequent interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Bernard said she felt it was unfair that Cosby is allowed to return home while he awaits sentencing, arguing that he deserved to be treated like any other “lying, coward, serial rapist.”
“He should go straight into the slammer where he belongs,” she said.
