PENNSYLVANIA, USA — The verdict came in September of 2018.
Former comedian Bill Cosby was found guilty for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting a former Temple University employee.
On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court reversed that ruling.
The initial claim came from a 2004 allegation that Cosby sexually assaulted Andrea Constand, a former Temple University Employee, at his home in Montgomery County.
A civil lawsuit was filed in 2005, after the former Montgomery County District Attorney publicly announced Cosby would not be criminally charged for the incident.
A settlement came for more than three million dollars in that civil suit in 2006.
More than 10 years after initial claims, amid a flurry of new sexual assault allegations, court documents from that civil case were unsealed in 2015.
That led to Cosby's deposition being publicized. In it, he admitted to giving a woman Quaaludes.
In the time between, more than 50 women came forward and accused Cosby of sexual assault.
Cosby's first trial started at the beginning of June 2017 and concluded in 12 days - only to end with a mistrial. The jury could not come to a unanimous verdict.
His second trial began on April 2, 2018.
At that time, Cosby said any encounters with Constand were consensual.
On April 26, 2018, the then 80-year-old Bill Cosby was convicted.
In June of 2020, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed to hear Cosby's appeal, and it was argued in December.
The Court ruled today this forced Cosby to give up his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Before Wednesday's decision, Cosby was denied parole for his sentence in May of this year.
While Cosby is now free, Wednesday's ruling could technically be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, prosecutors have yet to say whether or not they plan to do so.
Judy Ritter, a criminal law professor at Widener University said that trying to appeal this ruling to the nation's highest court would be "iffy" and "legally speaking, it's almost certainly over."