(NewsNation Now) — While Bill Cosby and his supporters celebrate his release from prison, one of his dozens of accusers of sexual misconduct said Wednesday’s news was an “emotional setback.”
Pamela Abeyta accused Cosby of drugging her in a Las Vegas hotel room in 1979. At a 2015 news conference, she said she couldn’t remember leaving a dinner show, and woke up in Cosby’s bed before losing consciousness again.
Wednesday, Abeyta told NewsNationNow.com his release brought her back to that time in her life. “At the end of all this, he’s the one that has to face his Lord,” she said.
Cosby has never admitted to any of the assaults he’s been accused of, and tweeted, “I have never changed my stance nor my story. I have always maintained my innocence. Thank you to all my fans, supporters and friends who stood by me through this ordeal.”
“How dare you say that?” Abeyta said on NewsNation Prime in reaction to Cosby’s statement. “He’s such a liar. And he knows what he did.”
Cosby’s sexual assault conviction was vacated because the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled he was denied due process.
Cosby was arrested in 2015 when a district attorney armed with newly unsealed evidence — the comic’s damaging deposition in a lawsuit brought by another accuser, Andrea Constand — filed charges against him just days before the 12-year statute of limitations was about to run out.
But the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said Wednesday that District Attorney Kevin Steele, who made the decision to arrest Cosby, was obligated to stand by his predecessor’s promise not to charge Cosby, though there was no evidence that agreement was ever put in writing.
Justice David Wecht, writing for a split court, said Cosby had relied on the previous district attorney’s decision not to charge him when the comedian gave his potentially incriminating testimony in Constand’s civil case.
Cosby was arrested in 2015, and two years later, Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein was accused by dozens of women of sexual misconduct. Louise Godbold is one of those accusers, and has provided support for people who say they’re victims of sexual assault.
On NewsNation Prime Wednesday, Godbold applauded the women for coming forward with their claims.
“To have that conviction overturned and for him to be released must be absolutely gutting for them,” she said.