Bill Cosby plans to deliver public speeches on sexual assault

Bill Cosby plans to conduct a series of free public seminars about sexual assault just days after a judge declared a mistrial in his sexual assault trial.

Bill Cosby

A spokesperson for Bill Cosby has said that the former actor receives "hundreds of calls from civic organisations and churches" requesting his presence. Source: AAP

Bill Cosby plans to conduct a series of free public seminars about sexual assault, his spokesman says, just days after a Pennsylvania judge declared a mistrial in the entertainer's sex assault trial.

The 79-year-old comedian was best known for his role as the father in the hit 1980s TV comedy 'The Cosby Show' before dozens of women came forward over the past few years to accuse him of sex assault.

One of the allegations led to this month's criminal trial outside Philadelphia.
"I received hundreds of calls from civic organisations and churches requesting for Mr Cosby to speak to young men and women about the judicial system," Andrew Wyatt, Cosby's spokesman, said in an email on Thursday.

Pennsylvania prosecutors plan to re-try Cosby on charges of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his home near Philadelphia in 2004, after the jury in the first trial failed to reach a verdict.

The case is the only criminal prosecution to emerge from dozens of similar allegations against Cosby, as the other cases are too old to be the subject of criminal prosecution.

Wyatt cited Cosby's assertion that former district attorneys had vowed not to prosecute him during negotiations related to a civil lawsuit.

"These groups would like for Mr Cosby to share that people in the judicial system can use their powers to annul deals for personal agenda and political ambitions," Wyatt said.

In a Wednesday interview on Birmingham, Alabama's WBRC-TV news, Wyatt offered more detail about the seminars.

"This issue can affect any young person, especially young athletes of today," Wyatt said.

"And they need to know what they are facing when they are hanging out and partying when they are doing things they shouldn't be doing. And it also affects married men."

Cosby has long denied sexually assaulting anyone, saying that any sexual contact he had with Constand or anyone else was consensual.

Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world