A Timeline of The Cosby Scandal

The current and ongoing rape accusations scandal that legendary comedian Bill Cosby is at the center of has been quite the roller coaster ride.

When the new against him first came out, many were shocked and struggled to fathom if it could be true.

Still, others pointed out that the Cosby Show star had actually been accused of sexual misconduct in the past, so this didn’t come as huge surprise.

Not long after, an overwhelming number of women came forward to disclose that they too had been molested by Cosby.

Ultimately, while a few remain on his side and continue to voice support, it seems the majority of people have adopted the “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” philosophy.

One of those people is Kevin Steele, the Montgomery County District Attorney, who after prosecuting Cosby to a mistrial, vowed to “get justice” for the victim.

Up Next: Bill Cosby’s Reaction To Mistrial Verdict Revealed

The Wrap has compiled a timeline of the entire situation from the earliest accusation all the way through to the recent mistrial judgment. We’ve condensed that timeline below into a list of a few main points you need to know about.

Photo Credit: Getty-2017

Hannibal Buress

The name might not be familiar to you, but even if you don’t recognize his name, there’s no doubt Hannibal Buress is the reason Bill Cosby’s rape scandal took on a whole new life.

In 2014, a fan-shot video of the stand-up comedian doing a routine where he talked about Cosby’s past rape allegations made it’s way online.

The routine starts out with him expressing disdain for Cosby’s wholesome public persona while having somewhat-secretly settled multiple sexual harassment and rape accusations out of court.

At one point, mocking Cosby, Buress says, “‘I don’t curse on stage!’ Well, yeah, you a rapist, so…”

Near the end of the bit he says, “That s–t is upsetting. If you didn’t know about it, trust me, when you leave here Google ‘Bill Cosby rape.’”

Once the video hit YouTube, it wasn’t just the audience from that night who Googled the allegations. It was everyone on the internet.

Past Accusations

The sexual misconduct allegations against Bill Cosby date back to 1965.

While the woman who accused him, Kristina Ruehli, didn’t go public until recently, she claims the incident took place when she was 22 years old.

In 1997, Cosby admitted to having an affair with a woman in the seventies, and that he paid her $100,000 to keep it quiet.

Lachele Covington filed a police report in 2000, claiming that Cosby touched her inappropriately. However, no charges were brought against him.

Supermodel and former judge of America’s Net Top Model Janice Dickinson has also accused Cosby of sexual assaulting her. His lawyers claim that she is lying.

All this time, the total number of women who have come forward to accuse Bill Cosby of sexual misconduct and/or rape is 58.

Andrea Constand

Hannibal Buress unsealed the lid on Cosby’s secret life and brought it out into public light, but it was Andrea Constand, a former Temple University student, who paved the way for other victims to come forward.

Constand was the Temple University women’s basketball team manager, and Cosby was a significant donor to the school, as well as a member of the board of trustees.

She accused Cosby of drugging and molesting her at his home in 2004 and he was charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault stemming from the incident.

Constand later filed a civil suit which cited 12 other accusers who wished to remain anonymous.

Eventually, The New York Times obtained the full 1,000-page deposition from her case and published excerpts, which detailed Cosby’s history of womanizing, and even alleged he’d carried on inappropriate behavior with women as young as 19.

The Fallout

Once over a dozen women had come forward to accuse Cosby of molestation/rape he began to see his star power fade.

He’d worked an agreement with Netflix for a new special but, in November of 2014, they canceled the deal.

The next day NBC dropped plans for a new comedy series that would have starred Cosby. Robert Greenblatt, NBC Entertainment’s Chairman later said that the decision to cancel the series was due to the accusations reaching a “critical mass.”

On that same day, TV Land pulled all reruns of The Cosby Show from their line-up.

A few days later Cosby received a standing ovation at a performance in Melbourne, Florida, but the remainder of his comedy tour was plagued with cancellations, protests, and hecklers.

It wasn’t long until former friends and fans, like Whoopie Goldberg and writer/director Judd Apatow, would voice their belief that Cosby was guilty of the accusations.

The Arrest and Trial

It wasn’t until 2015 that Cosby was officially arrested on the accusations brought against him by Andrea Constand.

A former district attorney refused to prosecute, which is why it took so long for Cosby to be arrested on “felony charges of criminal sexual assault.”

Early last year, Cosby’s lawyers’ requested that the criminal sexual assault charges be dismissed, but Pennsylvania judge Steven O’Neill denied their request.

A little over a month later, Elizabeth McHugh, a Montgomery County district judge, determined in preliminary hearings that there was enough evidence for a criminal trial to go on.

Prior to the trial, the prosecutors planned to call 13 accusers to the stand nut the judge ruled that only one of the accusers could testify. The judge also made a rule that all electronic communications (cell phones, tablets, laptops) from the courthouse were barred. This meant the trial could not be televised or streamed, and that journalists could not live-tweet it.

The trial began on June 5th, 2017.

After only 5 days, and 52 hours of deliberating, the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict.

A mistrial was declared.

What Happens Next?

With this trial ending in a mistrial, does that mean it’s all over?

Not at all.

A mistrial is defined as, “a trial rendered invalid through an error in the proceedings.”

Since the jury was in a deadlocked disagreement, and there was no chance any of them would change their minds, the trial was stuck. It couldn’t have proceeded to a legitimate “guilty” or “not guilty” verdict.

However, a mistrial case can be tried again, and the prosecutor intends to do just that.

More: Bill Cosby’s Wife Speaks Out After Mistrial Ruling

Kevin Steele, the Montgomery County District Attorney, told journalists, “We have made the determination of moving forward, and it lies in the fact she deserves a verdict in this case … and we will push forward to try and get justice done.”

He continued, “We hope that moving forward in this case sends a strong message that victims of these types of crimes can come forward and can be heard on what has happened to them.”

Finally, Steele said, “We hope that moving forward in this case sends a strong message that victims of these types of crimes can come forward and can be heard on what has happened to them.”