As Bill Cosby awaits his next trial date, the comedian has decided to fill his time by educating young people on how to avoid sexual assault charges. According to CNN, who spoke to Cosby’s publicist Wyatt Benson, Cosby will probably do five to seven talks in cities, such as Chicago, Detroit, and Philadelphia that will start in July.

Advocacy groups are outraged

Many advocacy groups are upset that Cosby will be discussing the topic of sexual assault when 60 women have accused him of raping/and or drugging them. Angela Rose, who is the director of the group Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment (PAVE), which is for sexual assault survivors, is not on board with the Cosby talks.

As stated to CNN, Rose feels that the talks will only serve to blame the sexual assault victim and deflect responsibility from the perpetrator. The National violence Resource Center also objects to Cosby doing these talks and stated that there are several groups that already educate young people on sexual assault. While Cosby will not be able to answer some questions, due to his upcoming trial that still needs to be scheduled, it is possible that anything that the entertainer says could be used against him in the future when the case goes to court again.

What happened in the first trial

The talks are right on the heels of Bill Cosby’s case being declared a mistrial. The trial lasted less than two weeks.

The defense chose to not put Bill Cosby on the stand. Cosby could have faced life in prison if convicted of sexually assaulting and drugging Andrea Constand, a former Temple University basketball worker that Cosby knew. However, the jury was deadlocked. Despite the judge informing the jury three times that they needed to keep trying to come to some consensus about the case and keep deliberating, a mistrial was declared.

While the District Attorney intends to prosecute the case again, Cosby is free until the next trial date.

The next trial could result in a different verdict for Cosby. As stated in the Business Insider, one of the jurors on the case felt that the lack of evidence, such as no stained clothing shows that Cosby is innocent. The juror felt that Andrea Constand was well coached and visited Cosby over 10 years ago prepared to be sexually active with him, due to her attire choice that showed her bare midriff. The juror also stated that some of the jurors had some challenges figuring out the legal terms associated with the case and that the terms should have been simplified for them.
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