Bill Cosby found guilty of drugging and sexually assaulting woman, after decades of accusations

After decades of whispers, lawsuits, investigations and close calls – and a multitude of women who lost hope anyone would ever believe their word against that of “America’s Dad” – Bill Cosby could be on his way to prison at age 80 for the remainder of his life.

The comedian was convicted Thursday of drugging and molesting Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia 14 years ago in a verdict women’s advocates called a turning point in the #MeToo movement that proved what Cosby’s accusers had been saying all along – that his nice-guy image was a sham.

Lili Bernard, who said Cosby sexually assaulted her before giving her a one-time role on The Cosby Show in 1992, became so emotional in the courtroom gallery that she accidentally banged her forehead on the bench in front of her.

“I’m overcome with gratitude,” Bernard, sobbing, said outside the courthouse. “I feel like I have to pinch myself. Am I awake? It’s a miracle.”

The verdict in the first big celebrity trial of the #MeToo era sealed the spectacular late-in-life downfall of an entertainer who broke racial barriers in Hollywood on his way to TV superstardom as sweater-wearing, wisdom-dispensing Dr Cliff Huxtable.