In 2014, Bill Cosby was accused of sexual assault by nearly 60 women. People like former models Beverly Johnson and Janice Dickinson have come forward to testify their claims. One woman’s case, Andrea Constand, has gone to trial.
Cosby now faces three counts of felony aggravated indecent assault, ABC News states. The reported incident stems back to 2004 when Constand said her encounter with Cosby occurred. A trial date has been set for June 6.
Now, Evin Cosby, the 79-year-old’s daughter, is speaking in defense of her father in a lengthy statement published on Facebook. Cosby’s youngest child said her father raised her to be an independent person and passed down those same lessons to his grandchildren. “I know that my father loves me, loves my sisters and my mother. He loves and respects women. He is not abusive, violent or a rapist,” she wrote. “Sure, like many celebrities tempted by opportunity, he had his affairs, but that was between him and my mother. They have worked through it and moved on, and I am glad they did for them and for our family.”
Evin Cosby continued to state that through every step of her father’s career he made an effort to place a positive spotlight on women. “My dad broke barriers and raised the conscious of America on important topics, especially for the advancement of women,” she stated. “On The Cosby Show he only depicted women as smart and accomplished. On The Cosby Show and on A Different World he took on then taboo subjects like menstrual cycles and rape, and even did a show on AIDS before anyone else would bring it up.”
In a 2015 interview with ABC’s Nightline, Cosby broke his silence on the sexual assault claims, stating, “I have been in this business 52 years and I’ve never seen anything like this. Reality is a situation and I can’t speak.”
Read Evin Cosby’s full statement below.
