Bill Cosby to Teach Young People About Sexual Assault Allegations
Want to learn about how to handle sexual crime claims?
You can talk to Bill
Cosby.
Fresh off a mistrial over a case in which a woman accused
him of sexually assaulting her in 2004, the popular 79-year-old Cosby
Show star and comedian plans on spending some of his time until his
new trial hosting town hall-style talks with young people about how to handle
such allegations, his rep says.
"We are going to wait and see what this district
attorney is going to do. This case is so polarizing. I don't know how you
come back after a mistrial and try to retry Mr. Cosby," the
rep, Andrew Wyatt, told anchor Janice Rogers on
Birmingham, Alabama news station WBRC's show Good Day Alabama. "I
think we move on now. Mr. Cosby wants to get back to work. We are now planning
town halls and we are going to be coming to this city sometime in July."
Wyatt said the actor wanted to "talk to young
people," adding, "Because this is bigger than Bill Cosby. This issue
can affect any young person, especially young athletes of today, and they
need to know what they're facing when they're hanging out and partying, when
they're doing certain things that they shouldn't be doing. And it also affects
married men."
Wyatt also talked about the actor's well-being, saying he
was doing "great."
"He told me to tell you hello," he said, drawing a
chuckle from the anchor "He was excited to go home—his life was at stake,
his freedom was at stake—go home and spend time with Mrs. Cosby and his
children and just celebrate Father's Day."
The actor's trial was declared a mistrial Sunday after jurors were
unable to reach a unanimous verdict. He was accused of drugging and
sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his Philadelphia home
in 2004. The actor had pleaded not guilty to three counts of
aggravated indecent assault. He is due to be retried in a few months,
More 50 women who have accused him of sexual
misconduct but their allegations never resulted in criminal
charges, namely because the statute of limitations has expired. Cosby has
denied all claims.
In the past couple of years, at least six states have
extended or eliminated their statutes of limitations on sexual assaults in wake
of the Cosby accusations and other sexual assault cases.
"Laws are changing," Ebonee Benson,
another Cosby family rep, told WBRC.
"The statutes of limitations for victims of sexual
assault are being extended," she said. "So this is why people need to
be educated on a brush against the shoulder, you know, anything at this point
can be considered sexual assault and it's a good thing to be educated about the
law."
The interviewer than thanked them both for appearing and
told them to "tell the Cosbys we said hello."
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