'America's Dad' Bill Cosby's Sexual Assault Conviction Overturned

"Judged Not to Have Enjoyed Fair Judicial Procedures"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The guilty verdict against famous American comedian Bill Cosby, who was serving time for sexual assault charges, has been overturned.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court in the United States ruled on the 30th (local time) to dismiss Cosby's sexual assault conviction and ordered his release, according to reports by The New York Times (NYT) and others.

Having served more than two years since 2018, he was released immediately after the ruling.

Cosby was sentenced to 3 to 10 years in prison by the trial court for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, a staff member of the women's basketball team at his alma mater Temple University, in 2004.

According to local media, the state Supreme Court overturned the lower court's ruling not because it denied the sexual assault charges themselves, but because it judged that he did not receive a fair judicial process.

Cosby gained popularity in the 1980s as the exemplary father figure in the hit sitcom "The Cosby Show," earning the nickname "America's Dad."

However, following the 'Me Too' movement triggered by the 2017 sexual crime revelations against Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein, he became the first American celebrity to be convicted of a sex crime.

At the time, dozens claimed to have been sexually assaulted by him, but due to the statute of limitations, only one case was tried, and he appealed last year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.