For 34 years, Atlanta Victim Assistance, Inc. has helped people who have suffered at the hands of various crimes. Executive director Brenda Muhammad said sexual assault can cause pain years from the initial interaction.
In response to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturning comedian Bill Cosby's sexual assault conviction, Muhammad called it shocking.
"It’s absolutely devastating, because when this happens to you, you want to do something but you’re afraid to do anything because of the fear of disappointment," Muhammad said. "You want to have hope, but you get this kind of situation and it just affirms to the victim as though nothing really happened.”
Muhammad said the court's ruling, which came down Wednesday, could prevent future victims from speaking up and coming forward in the future to report sexual assaults.
"This is a slap in the face," Muhammad said. "The world is watching this and will see what happens. Just think about the victims walking out awfully small in the next state. It makes our job that much harder to convince them to stand strong and prosecute."
Legal analyst Page Pate said a technicality set Cosby, 83, free from prison after he had served nearly three years in a state facility. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that Cosby's due process rights were violated when he was charged and convicted. Cosby had made an agreement with previous prosecutors that he could not be charged in this particular case.
In 2018, Cosby was sentenced to up to ten years in prison for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his home in 2004.
"The first DA made a critical mistake in agreeing not to prosecute Cosby, and it’s only fair he shouldn’t be prosecuted if they told him they weren’t going to do it," Pate said. "It doesn't in anyway mean that Bill Cosby did not commit the criminal acts he was charged with. It doesn't in any way undercut the credibility of the victims who came forward. It doesn't mean the Pennsylvania Supreme Court doesn't believe them."
Cosby cannot be tried again in the Keystone State, and it is unclear where his legal saga goes from here. As for now, the comedian remains in the clear.
Cosby and his wife, Camille, were big donors to Atlanta schools, giving $20 million Spelman College and $3 million to Morehouse School of Medicine. But ties severed in 2015, when Spelman suspended Cosby's professorship after he was accused of sexual assault. In a statement, Spelman said it returned the money back to the Cosby Family Foundation and ultimately discontinued the professorship.