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US comedian Bill Cosby convicted of sexual assault in retrial

Bill Cosby faces up to ten years in prison
Bill Cosby faces up to ten years in prison

A Pennsylvania jury has found comedian Bill Cosby guilty on all counts of sexual assault at a retrial.

The 80-year-old was accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a then-friend, Andrea Constand, at his Philadelphia-area home in 2004.

He faces up to ten years in prison for each of the three counts of aggravated indecent assault.

Lily Bernard, one of his many accusers, began sobbing, while Ms Constand did not react as the verdict was read out.

"It's a victory not just for the 62 of us who have come forward but for all survivors of sexual assault, female and male," Ms Bernard told reporters.

Outside the courtroom, two other Cosby accusers were seen hugging, crying and clapping.

Judge Steven O'Neill ruled that Cosby could remain out of jail on $1 million bail pending sentencing at a later date, as long as he surrendered his passport and remained at home.

Cosby then left the courthouse with his lawyers and publicist.

"The fight will go on," defence lawyer Thomas Mesereau told reporters, insisting on Cosby's innocence.

Attorney Gloria Allred, who represents 33 of the Cosby accusers, rejoiced that Cosby was found "guilty, guilty, guilty."

"We are so happy that finally we can say, women are believed, and not only on #MeToo, but in a court of law," Ms Allred told reporters.

The conviction marks the downfall of a man once celebrated as "America's Dad" but whose reputation was ruined after some 50 women accused him of similar offences going back decades.

District Attorney Kevin Steele had asked the judge to have Cosby taken into custody immediately, saying he was a flight risk in part because he owned a plane.

A former administrator for the women's basketball team at Temple University, Cosby's alma mater, Ms Constand is one of about 50 women who have accused him of sexual assault.

All of the other allegations are believed to be too old to be prosecuted.

Cosby has said any sexual encounters were consensual.

The unanimous decision by the seven-man, five-woman jury came less than a year after a different jury deadlocked in his first trial on the same charges, prompting the judge to declare a mistrial.

Prosecutors decided to retry him.