- Bill Cosby was found guilty on three counts of aggravated indecent assault in a Pennsylvania court on Thursday, and the comedian could face 1o years in prison for each count.
- The sexual-assault allegations that brought Bill Cosby to trial were largely reignited by a stand-up comedy bit in 2014, when comedian Hannibal Buress joked about Cosby's "rape" at a comedy club in Philadelphia.
- After footage of Buress' joke went viral, more than 60 women came forward to accuse Cosby of sexual abuse.
Bill Cosby, 80, was found guilty on three counts of aggravated indecent assault in a Pennsylvania court on Thursday, and the comedian could face up to 10 years in prison for each count.
The sexual-assault allegations that brought Cosby to trial were largely reignited by a stand-up comedy bit in 2014, when comedian Hannibal Buress joked about Cosby's "rape" at a club in Philadelphia.
"Pull your pants up black people, I was on TV in the '80s," Buress said in the bit, mocking Bill Cosby's public persona. "Yeah, but you rape women, Bill Cosby," Buress added, "so turn the crazy down a couple notches."
Shaky, fan-shot footage of Buress' Cosby joke subsequently went viral.
As Buress' joke went viral, Cosby was vilified by many on social media and the subject was picked up by and discussed frequently on cable news outlets like CNN. Cosby then faced persistent criticism from other notable comedians, including Judd Apatow.
In the years following Buress' joke, more than 60 women would come forward to accuse Cosby of sexual assault.
And on Thursday, Cosby was convicted of drugging and violating Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. The verdict came after a two-week retrial in which prosecutors put five other women on the stand who testified that Cosby drugged and violated them, too.
It was the only criminal case to arise from allegations from his more than 60 accusers.
Additional reporting by the AP.
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