>> i'm craig melvin. >> >> my mind is saying move your hands, kick. i don't want this, why is this person doing this? >> did you tell anybody else about what happened? >> it was bill cosby! it was dr. huxtable. i thought i was the only person that he did this to! who's gonna believe me?! >> reporter: she spoke up and stood up. >> the first cosby accuser to get justice. >> he had three blue pills in his hand and i said "what are those?" >> reporter: tonight, she

finally shares her story, her mom by her side, in her first and only interview. >> why did you want to do this? >> it's just an important time to speak up. >> reporter: powerful new details, with a warning: at times they can get graphic. >> i know it's hard to tell this story. >> yes. >> it's hard, gianna, for you to hear this. >> reporter: and a powerful confrontation with bill cosby himself. >> i was yelling and saying to him, "you're sick." >> i'm concerned. i don't know how it affected her. >> i wouldn't even worry about it. if i were, i'm serious about this. >> underestimated. >> reporter: one woman, standing for them all. >> shero, joan of arc. >> she took us from victim to survivor. >> i just needed to make the first step. after that, it was in god's hands.

then she made the very difficult choice to seek justice from her attacker and became part of a movement giving generations of movement a powerful new voice. here's kate snow with bringing down bill cosby. >> you are now going to be known as the woman who took down bill cosby. how do you feel about that? >> i never set out to bring down anybody. and i haven't necessarily because i'm not alone. this is a collective consciousness and so i would

rather say we brought down bill cosby, but i just had the shoes on. >> reporter: for thirteen years, through a civil suit and two criminal trials, the woman who confronted one of the country's most beloved entertainers, has remained silent, never speaking to the public about her case. now for the first time, andrea constand talks about bill cosby. >> for years and years and decades, he preyed upon young women. >> reporter: about the assault. >> i was crying out inside, in my throat, in my mind, for this to stop. and i couldn't do anything. >> reporter: and about her journey. >> why did you do this? >> for justice. >> reporter: we talked to andrea and her mother, gianna constand, in new york, after cosby's conviction. andrea agreed to tell us the story she told in court but

speaking on camera wasn't easy. >> andrea, this is your first television interview. why did you want to do this? >> i think it's just an important time to -- to speak up and let people know who i am. >> reporter: she's an unlikely heroine. intensely private, humble. a massage therapist in her hometown, toronto. she's devoted to healthy living, the outdoors -- and her dogs. at 45 years old, she's calm, even serene. as a child she was anything but. >> you were runnin around outside -- >> i was outdoors -- >> playing sports. >> if it wasn't my mother or father trying to find me, then it was my grandma running out with -- >> causing trouble. >> with a hose tryin' to get me to come home and -- >> i was a really rambunctious tomboy. and -- >> really. she was like having six kids. and i mean it. >> reporter: by high school she was a star basketball player. >> she used to score 30 points per game. >> thirty a game?

just you? >> yes. >> my three point -- that was my thing. i was a great shooter. and so that was my weapon. >> reporter: that weapon took her to the university of arizona on a scholarship. then to italy, playing pro. in 2002, she got a job at temple university, in philadelphia, as the operations manager of the women's basketball team. early on, she met the legendary bill cosby. superstar, comedian, famous for playing a happily married dr. huxtable on "the cosby show." cosby himself had been married for decades to camille. >> bill cosby was this giant presence at temple university, right, at the time? >> yes. he was a giant presence behind the scenes. he was -- a board -- member, a trustee and also a graduate, an alumni.

>> reporter: cosby, who was an athlete during his time at the school, was an avid supporter of temple's basketball program. he would later say he became romantically interested in andrea the first time he saw her. >> he was, what, in his sixties? you're 29 at the time? >> that's right. >> just to be clear, were you romantically interested in him? >> no, i was not. never. >> reporter: but they became friendly. and at some point, bill cosby asked her to his home outside philadelphia. >> you thought at the time you were goin' to his house for what, for a meeting? for a conversation? >> for dinner. to just to get to know him a little bit more, talk to him. maybe share sports stories. >> reporter: she had dinner at the house and the two talked. but there was a weird moment after the meal. >> and you said that he -- he touched you on your thigh? >> yes, he did. so he sat down and we were just talking and -- and he just sat kinda beside me, very close to me. and -- and he put his hand on my thigh. i wasn't threatened in any way. but i just thought, "okay, well, that was very friendly of him to do that."

>> reporter: she brushed it off. and when cosby asked her for dinner again, she accepted. but this time, as she testified in court, his actions were overt. >> mr. cosby made a pass at me. a full -- >> made a pass at you? >> a full blown pass at me. uh-huh. >> tried to unbutton your pants, i think you testified? >> yes, he did. he -- he reached over and -- put his hand right on my button and tried to unbutton you know, jostled with my button. and then was actually trying to find the top of my zipper. >> what did you say? >> i leaned forward and i said, "i'm not here for that. i'm -- i don't want that." and he removed his hand, respectfully. and i -- i left several minutes later. so i kinda thought, like this older gentleman just made a pass at me. >> and you thought it was strange? >> i did. >> some people might think at that point distance, right? don't see him again. you did see him again. >> yes, i did.

>> wh -- why not distance yourself? >> well, i felt that i was pretty clear in my -- my -- in what i said to him which is "i'm not here for that." and i thought he got the puck chur. picture. e. >> reporter: but he didn't. what happened next, and what she did about it, would, over many years, turn andrea constand into a powerful symbol for scores of women. after she came forward, some sixty women would publicly accuse the entertainer of sexual misconduct -- everything from harassment to assault to rape. unlike andrea, most would never get their day in court. >> what do you all think of andrea constand? >> hero, joan of arc, solid -- rock solid. grace under pressure. >> godsend. yeah, she took us from victim to survivor. coming up, the night that

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>> reporter: by january 2004, bill cosby and andrea constand had what she calls a working friendship. and even after she'd rejected his clumsy pass, cosby was still offering her career advice.

>> he wanted to try to help me with broadcasting, something that i wasn't interested in at the time. but i -- >> he offered this? >> he did. he did. >> reporter: andrea was considering a different career change. she wanted to move back to toronto to study massage therapy. cosby asked her to dinner to discuss her plans. >> i wanted to thank him for his help and discuss some of the stress that i was feeling around resigning from my position. >> reporter: what happened that night would change her life forever. and his. she told the full story later in court. it is, at times, graphic and disturbing. >> well, i guess he sees that i'm having -- some nervous thoughts, maybe that -- maybe i'm just stressed about making the decision. and -- we're just drinking water. and i get up to go to the bathroom. when i come back from the bathroom, mr. cosby is standing where -- right across the table where we were sitting. and he had three blue pills in his hand. >> three blue pills? >> three blue pills.

and he put his hand out and i said, "what are those?" and he said, "they'll help you relax." and i said, "like, are they -- are they natural? are they, like, a herbal remedy? and he said, "no, they're your friends. just put 'em down." >> "they're your friends"? >> "they're your friends. just put 'em down." >> swallow? >> and he hands me some w -- i get some water somehow and i swallow thethree pills down. >> why do you do that? >> i took them because i -- i trusted that they would maybe just help me feel a little more relaxed. >> you trusted him? >> yes, i did. yes, i did. >> so you take these and how do you feel? >> i started to panic a little bit as i was sitting at the table. some time had passed, maybe 20 to 30 minutes. and as i was talking to him, i s -- noticed that -- my words were -- weren't coming out right. i was starting to slur my words. and i also had double vision and i had a cottonmouth, really bad cottonmouth. i said, "mr. cosby, i see two of you." and i'm slurring my words, like something's wrong. and he got up and he said, "okay.

get up. i think you just need to go and relax on the sofa." and so i -- i got up. and when i got up my legs were very weak. >> could you walk? >> no. i could not walk. he supported me over to the -- the sofa. >> he lays you down on the sofa? >> yes, he does. >> what's the next thing-- >> he puts -- >> you remember? >> a pillow under my head. i just remember walking over there. he placed a pillow under my head. and he said, "just lay down there and relax." and so i laid on my side. and i passed out. >> i know it's hard to tell this story. i know -- >> yes. >> it's hard, gianna, for you to hear this. >> uh-huh. she described to me what she says bill cosby did to her next.

so i was limp. i was a limp noodle. >> did he say anything? >> no. >> no. he said nothing that i -- that i could recall. i was in and out of consciousness. >> and you don't remember being able to speak? >> inside i was crying out inside in my throat, in my mind for this to stop and i couldn't do anything. >> andrea says she woke up hours later. >> i remember coming to, looking at my watch and somewhere between 4:00 and 5:00 a.m., nobody was there. i got up and i was like, what just happened? i have no idea and so i put myself together.

i was really dishevelled. my pants were unzipped, i started walking to the front entrance and mr. cosby was there in his robe and he said there's a tea there and there's a muffin there. >> he's offering you breakfast? >> he's offering me breakfast and i just wanted to get out of there. i felt so humiliated and shocked so i put the top of the muffin in the napkin and i went out to my car. >> she'll never forget that drive home. >> did you call anyone? >> no, i didn't. >> why not? >> i just was ashamed. i just -- i think in anger and different emotions started coming in and i was trying to figure things out for myself and really felt a deep shame.

>> you felt shame? y -- i -- because i think you go back and you say, "why did i go there? why did i do this? instead of putting the responsibility on the person who has done this awful thing to you. i went home and i had a shower. and i went to work. i had a good cry in the shower. but i went. and i arrived at my office and i started my day. >> reporter: but the pain she felt that morning would propel her toward a face-to-face confrontation with her attacker. >> would she get the answers she was looking for? >> coming up -- >> i wanted to see him in person and say "why did you do this to me?" our live and active probiotics. a delicious way to enjoy probiotics every day. with 20 years of devotion to gut health. activia. like no other. and relief from symptoms caused feel the clarity of non-drowsy claritin

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>> it happened in the middle of winter, january, 2004. andrea had been drugged and sexually assaulted by bill cosby. it left her confused and humiliat humiliated. >> did you tell anybody else at the time? >> i did not. >> why not? >> i didn't think anybody would belief me. it was bill cosby. it was dr. huxtable. i thought i was the only person he did this to. who's going to believe me?

>> reporter: in the weeks after the assault, andrea grew angrier and wanted answers. >> and so i wanted to confront him, not on the telephone. i wanted to see him in person and say, "why did you do this to me? what did i do to deserve this?" >> reporter: she says she told cosby she wanted to talk with him privately, and he asked her to meet him at his home. though she was distraught, she was determined to go. >> and i said, "last time i was here you -- you gave me something. you did something to me. what did you do to me?" he fumbled his words. he got very evasive with me. would not tell me what he gave to me and i said i don't think i'm going to get any answers and i'm just going to leave. and i said, "i don't think i'm gonna get any answers. and i'm just gonna leave." >> reporter: andrea says after that confrontation, she went ahead with her plans to quit her job at temple, and move back to her parents' home in toronto. >> and my husband and i, as the months, you know, went on and on -- and i'd say to him, "do you think something's wrong with

her?" and so it was like both of us where something's not right. >> reporter: andrea insisted nothing was wrong. then one morning about a year after cosby assaulted her an emotional dam broke. >> i woke up and i had a bad dream. and that dream was that mr. cosby would do this to somebody else if i did not say or tell someone. so i woke up crying, and i saiy he sexually violated me." and she was so caught off guard. >> "mom." and i said, "andrea, who are you talking about?" she said, "mom, he drugged me and he raped me." i said, "who?" she said, "bill cosby." >> reporter: andrea's mom was horrified. she had thought cosby was her daughter's friend and mentor. not a sexual predator. gianna decided to take matters into her own hands. she testified later in court

that she called cosby to confront him. >> what's that phone call like? >> well, it was a two and a half hour conversation. >> what was your tone? >> well, i was very, very angry. very, very angry. >> reporter: throughout the call, she says, he called her "mom." he tried to lead her to believe the sexual act with andrea was consensual. >> it was a lot of game playing, a lot of manipulation, my conversation with him. and i think when i said to him, "you know what?" i said, "it's -- it's best you're truthful. it's best you're honest." >> reporter: gianna says cosby asked to have andrea pick up the other line, she did. and they say he made a startling admission. >> he said, "i'm sorry, andrea. and i'm sorry mom." >> reporter: gianna wasn't having it. >> i was yelling and saying to him, "you're sick. you're a sick man and that," he -- he agreed. he said that he was a sick man.

>> he agreed? >> yes. and he felt very embarrassed. >> reporter: andrea decided to make her own call to the local police. canadian detectives interviewed her, then contacted the authorities in pennsylvania where cosby lived. they opened an investigation. and that made news... >> bill cosby is the focus of a police investigation near philadelphia. it stems from an allegation... >> did you understand, andrea, how public this all might get at that point? >> yes. i -- >> were you scared? >> i was. yes. and it sunk in more and more as the days passed. >> reporter: andrea's mom was worried, too. and wanted to protect her daughter. so she did something unusual. she bought a phone recording device and used it the next time she talked to the comedian. >> why did you record it? >> because i was hoping to have his admission of what he had told me on the first call. >> i wanted to get back to you because --

>> reporter: but right away, it seemed cosby wasn't willing to talk about what happened to andrea. >> i -- i don't wanna talk about anything except a mute, a mutual feeling for uh, a friendship. >> reporter: and just as fast, gianna's plan started to unravel. cosby seemed to realize she was recording the call. so gianna tried to make an excuse for a sound he heard. blaming it on her pet. >> you -- do you have a beeping going on in your phone. >> no, no, not at all. i have a parrot. >> i know this is a beep. >> no, no, i have a parrot, i mean i don't have a -- no. >> a parrot? >> reporter: cosby changed the subject. and offered to financially help andrea if she wanted to pursue a graduate degree. >> yeah, i'll lay out what i think is the best. pay for the schooling. >> uh-huh.

>> and a whatever, as long as she maintains a three point zero average, she'll be fine. >> reporter: gianna says she wasn't interested in cosby's money. but she did want the name of the drug he'd given andrea. she'd asked him for that in their previous phone call. >> are you really gonna send me on that piece of paper the name of that stuff or not. or were you joking? >> oh, no, no, no, no. we can, we can talk about what you asked for later. >> okay. >> okay. >> okay, just because i'm concerned. i, i don't know how it affected her and i wanna know. >> i don't think so, d -- wouldn't even worry about it if i were, i'm serious about this. let's get with the other thing. okay. >> reporter: the conversation ended. days later, andrea was interviewed by police in pennsylvania. she hoped cosby would be charged. but that didn't happen. in a dramatic development, the montgomery county district

attorney said he would not file criminal charges, citing a lack of "credible and admissible evidence." yet, andrea's story was far from over. if the d.a. wouldn't go after cosby, she would. >> reporter: the attorneys who would turn everything around. >> you have a two-women office basically up against a multi-milloinaire superstar, intimidated? >> underestimated. ♪ did you know you can save money by using dish soap to clean grease on more than dishes? try dawn ultra. dawn is for more than just dishes. with 3x more grease cleaning power per drop, it tackles tough grease on a variety of surfaces. try dawn ultra.

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negotiations between china and the u.s. >> now back to "date line." "da. >> welcome back to dateline. i'm craig melvin. >> andrea was devastated. she had just disclosed to her mom that during a visit at the home of her friend and mentor, that bill cosby first drugged and raped her. after investigating the d.a. determined there was not enough evidence to prosecute. for some, that might have been the end of it. for andrea, it was just the beginning. here is kate snow with bringing down bill cosby. andrea constand speaks. >> i just needed to just make the first step. after that, it was in god's

hands. >> reporter: it was early 2005 after the d.a. decided not to press charges against bill cosby, andrea decided to hire two suburban philadelphia lawyers. >> when andrea called me in 2005, little could i imagine that we'd still be on this journey in 2018. >> reporter: bebe kivitz and dolores troiani had years of experience helping survivors of sexual assault. after andrea's story made news, other women privately reached out with similar accusations. >> you start hearing from a lot of women. >> right. 13. >> all of them tell you what? >> well, some of them were consensual relationships, but everyone had the same story, which is, "i'm with bill cosby, and the next thing i know, i drank something or i take a pill and i'm out." >> reporter: in march 2005, andrea sued cosby in a civil lawsuit. >> dolores, bebe, you have a two-women office basically up against a multi-millionaire, superstar, world-renowned

comedian. >> we hadn't noticed that. >> intimidated? >> never. >> never. n -- really, never. >> never. >> underestimated. >> you were underestimated. >> absolutely. >> reporter: andrea's la had lots of questions for cosby. and because this was a civil case, the comedian was forced to sit for a deposition. >> can you describe what happened when you walked in the room? >> well, it was four days, and each day, he had at least four male lawyers there. >> was he confident? >> well, he was arrogant. there was one part, that he uses to explain how, in his mind, women don't need to verbalize their consent because, you know, he just knows. and -- and it was -- very -- it -- it was disgusting. >> reporter: andrea was there to look him in the eye and hear what he had to say. >> having to sit in the same room as mr. cosby and his attorneys, i -- didn't feel as scared.

>> reporter: cosby was now on the record, at times ignoring the advice of hisown lawyers and freely offering crucial details. >> he admitted, he had given andrea three blue pills, three round, blue pills that were friends. >> reporter: and there was more. dolores specifically asked him about quaaludes, a prescription sedative popular in the 70's "when you got the quaaludes was it in your mind that you were going to use these quaaludes for young women that you wanted to have sex with?" cosby answered 'yes.'" >> and he never takes them himself. he said he had seven prescriptions of quaaludes for young women to have sex with. >> reporter: in november 2006, cosby settled the lawsuit and admitted no wrongdoing. andrea signed a non-disclosure agreement, and cosby paid her $3.38 million dollars. the depositions sealed from the public. >> now what was it you wanted to say? >> reporter: and while a few

other women made accusations against the comedian, the story essentially died out. until 2014, eight years later, when another comedian took the stage. >> i had a successful sitcom, but yeah, you rape women bill cosby so turn the carzy down a couple notches. >> reporter: hannibal buress added a bit about cosby to his routine. >> i've done this bit on stage and people don't believe, people think i'm making it up. i'm like bill cosby has a lot of rape allegations. >> reporter: for whatever reason, the comments spread like wild-fire on social media. more and more women whose stories went back years started coming forward. >> how many of you believe you were drugged by bill cosby? >> how many of you believe bill cosby raped you? >> reporter: women accused the comedian of everything from harassment, to sexual assault to rape. back in 2015, i interviewed 27 of them. lili bernard. >> and the next memory, i'm on

the floor, on the carpet. and i remember the -- the sensation of the carpet -- against the flesh of my back like velcro, like this. and it hurt and i couldn't move because of the drugs. and i remember him on top of me. >> reporter: many of these women said they had something in common: cosby took advantage of them when they were young and vulnerable. it was too late for most of them to have their day in court the statute of limitations had run out. some expressed frustration cosby had never been prosecuted. heidi thomas. >> and see if we can maybe start to address&-- an epidemic crime. >> my name's kevin steele... >> reporter: a few months after that interview, a new d.a. was elected in montgomery county, pennsylvania. armed with another investigation, the d.a.'s office charged cosby in the constand case. >> today, after examination of all the evidence we are able to seek justice on behalf of the

victim..." >> reporter: in december of 2015, bill cosby was arraigned on three counts of aggravated indecent assault. >> mr. cosby you want to say anything? >> reporter: cosby pleaded not guilty. >> mr. cosby how do you feel, sir? >> reporter: with a trial looming, andrea would have to take the witness stand and relive her nightmare. >> coming up, the battle moves to the courthouse and andrea is under fire. >> the defense argued that you wanted money. were you in it for money? >> when "dateline" continues. he, including nasal congestion, which most pills don't. and all from a gentle mist you can barely feel. flonase sensimist.

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welcome back to "dateline. a year after she says she was sexual aattacked she sued the comedian in court. she looked him in the eye as he admitted to giving her pills that night. he also admitted acquiring quaaludes specifically for women who wanted to have sex with. while the result was satisfying, she still could not get what she'd always wanted, acknowledgement that what bill cosby did was criminal. now, over a decade later had the day she'd been waiting for finally arrived?

>> reporter: in june 2017, bill cosby went on trial in a courthouse outside philadelphia for sexually assaulting andrea constand 13 years earlier. >> mr. cosby, are you confident today, sir? >> reporter: finally, it was time for andrea to tell her story to a jury. >> as well as i held myself, a part of me was nervous that i would have to, again, go through this traumatic incident that happened to me all over again. >> live through it again. >> yes. >> reporter: on the stand she recounted that night back in 2004 at cosby's home. when she finished, his defense team challenged her story, zeroing in on inconsistenices. on the sixth day of deliberating, the jury announced it was hopelessly deadlocked. >> today a pennsylania judge declared a mistrial..." >> when you heard it was a hung jury, was that devastating? >> it didn't feel complete. it didn't feel like justice. it just felt empty. >> reporter: it could have ended right there. but the d.a. had a message for andrea and her attorneys.

>> he looked at me and he said, "i'm doin' this again." >> that day? >> that day. that minute. >> reporter: andrea was determined to testify again. this wasn't just about her. it was also about cosby's other accusers. >> women came out into the public, into the media in droves saying that they had, too, been drugged and sexually assaulted. and i believe the women. i believe the women. >> reporter: and for trial number two she would have more support. the judge ruled that five women, with stories of drugging and assault similar to andrea's, could also testify. it was a big win for the prosecution. four of those women spoke to us: janice baker-kinney, lise-lotte lublin, heidi thomas and chelan lasha. >> i was like, "thank you, somebody's listening." >> and we will take this opportunity and run with it. thank you for letting us speak. >> reporter: lise-lotte lublin

teaches sixth grade at a las vegas school. she didn't tell students she'd be part of bill cosby's retrial. but then, one of them approached her. >> she wrote me a note. and she gives me the notes before i went to philadelphia. and she told me to be strong. and i never talked to her about it. she hands it over to me and i open it up. and just reading the note, i know she knows. >> reporter: on monday april 9th, trial number 2 began. >> mr. cosby how are you feeling today? >> reporter: one by one, the accusers took the stand. >> i'll tell you right now, shaking like a leaf when i first got there. i was sitting on my hands for the first part of my testimony. >> reporter: but for each woman, fear gave way to confidence. even defiance. chalan lasha locked eyes with bill cosby. >> he looked at me in that courtroom and he smiled and ch -- chuckled at me. and that's when i made the comment that i made. >> what did you say? >> now you remember me, mr. cosby, don't you?

'cause i knew he did. it's like, i'm looking at you in your eyes. i know he remembered the day he drugged me. >> you saw -- you saw -- >> i knew it. i saw it in -- >> recognition in his eyes? >> yes. >> reporter: on the stand, heidi thomas blurted out her reason for testifying. >> and i said, "i'm here to see a serial rapist convicted." and then the courtroom was silent. and i thought, "oh, man, i'm waiting for somebody to stand up and object to this." >> reporter: she was right to worry. for the second trial, cosby hired a new defense team, headed by famed l.a. attorney thomas mesereau. >> i felt their strategy was one of something, if this trial took place in 1970 or '80, it would have worked. >> what was the strategy? >> victim blaming. >> smear tactics. >> complete victim blaming. >> and smear techniques. >> and it was so misogynistic. it was so victim blaming, it was

so two decades ago. >> reporter: through his lawyers, cosby has denied he gave drugs or had sexual interaction with anyone without consent. he has not been charged in connection with any allegation other than andrea's. after the accusers testified in april, it's was andrea's turn. a friend was there for support. angela rose founded a survivor advocacy group called 'pave.' >> we had to wait in a small little hallway before we went into the court and i remember being in that hallway and us just holding hands and just saying a prayer for justice. and i just told her, "you can do this." >> reporter: for the second time in less than a year, andrea constand took the stand and described that night at cosby's home. as she spoke, she focused on the 12 people who most needed to hear her. >> i connected with the jury. i let them feel what i had gone through. and i tried to be as authentic as possible, as relaxed as possible.

>> reporter: when she finished telling her story, cosby's lawyers went after her. >> the defense painted a picture, andrea, of you giving inconsistent statements to different police agencies, saying different things at different times. >> well, that's fair. and understandably so. going through that kind of traumatic situation is very difficult. and the one thing that i've remained consistent of is what he did to me that night. it will never go away. it's stuck in my brain for the rest of my life. >> your story on that has never changed. >> no. >> reporter: the defense argued that andrea was a con artist who preyed on a lonely man. >> that was despicable. that's not true. i'm not a con artist. bill cosby is a con artist. for years and years and decades, he preyed upon young women.

and he's a true con artist himself. >> the defense argued that you wanted money, were you in it for money?" >> no. this has never been about money. this has been about justice. i wasn't talking money. i was talking police and justice. >> reporter: but it was also about a hollywood icon. twelve men and women were now being asked to throw that image away and redefine the man, as a criminal. >> as the jury began deliberation the accusers long awaited hope for justice was about to come to a head. coming up -- >> i had my fist clenched and i was holding my breath. >> reporter: after all these years a judgment at last. >> there was a gasp in the audience. >> i was just overcome. >> when "dateline" continues.

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>> welcome back. bill cosby was on trial for a second time, charged once again with a 2004 sexual assault of andrea constand. was andrea a con artist out for money as the defense argued or was she the victim of a sexual predator? the designate was in the hands of the jury and the verdict would soon be in. here's kate snow with the conclusion of "bringing down

bill cosby, andrea constand speaks." >> reporter: 13 years after she came forward, andrea constand was still waiting for justice. but as the jury in bill cosby's retrial deliberated, she made her peace. >> i tried to just keep my expectations -- to just not be affected either way. that, regardless, the jury was going to deliver a verdict and to just be okay with that. >> reporter: the other women who testified were more tense. >> i didn't realize for how long i was -- had my fist clenched, and i was holding my breath. >> you all feel that way? >> holding our breath, absolutely -- >> oh, my. yeah. >> reporter: midway through the second day of deliberations, this jury had what the first did not: a verdict. for andrea constand, the long wait was over. >> guilty. guilty. guilty. i -- i was just overcome. >> reporter: the jury found bill cosby guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault. america's dad was now a convicted felon. >> i was so happy for her.

and for the other women. just for -- you know, because i thought not only was she doing this for herself, i knew all along that it was bigger than just her. >> reporter: the enormity of the verdict played out inside the courthouse, as accusers who'd attended the trial broke down. as for these four, they'd all returned home by that time their phones blowing up with the news. >> i said, "he's guilty, he's gui -- we did it, we did it!" >> and i walked in the door and my husband just walked out to me, i looked at him and i said, "we did it." >> we did it -- >> we beat goliath. >> we did it. we beat goliath. >> reporter: but the drama inside the courtroom wasn't over. immediately after the verdict, prosecutor kevin steele told the judge that cosby was a flight risk with his own airplane.

andrea's attorney watched as cosby shot up from his chair in a flash of anger. and he yelled -- you know, "he doesn't have an airplane, you a-hole. i'm sick of you." and, i mean, there was a gasp in the audience. everybody was like, "oh, my god." i thought, "there he is. now, everybody sees what this man is." >> bill cosby. >> bill cosby. >> in september 2018 the judge declared cross theberry as a sexual violent predator and sentenced him up to 30 years in prison. his defense team declined comment for this report. but right after the verdict, attorney thomas mesereau spoke to reporters. >> we don't think mr. cosby is guilty of anything. and the fight is not over. thank you. >> are you going to appeal? >> yes, yes very strongly. >> reporter: cosby's wife, camille, issued her own statement. she condemned the trial as mob justice, not real justice." but these four witnesses say

camille cosby's voice can't drown out the jury's verdict. >> when we last met, beverly johnson, also an accuser, said, "this body of women are moving the needle." >> not much. but we're still moving it and that's the power we all feel. >> you think you moved the needle? >> absolutely, absolutely. yeah. >> i think we are exploding the needle off the charts. with each step we take, people who have been assaulted, sexually assaulted, feel more powerful to be able to come forward. >> reporter: after the verdict, andrea constand went back to toronto. back to her job and to the family and friends who supported her for years. >> when i got home and when i arrived at the door, there was a big three words, and hearts, stuck all over my door. and it said, "you did it." >> reporter: now, when she hears the name "bill cosby" she no longer feels anger.

>> what do you think now when you look at him? >> i forgave bill cosby for what he did to me. i forgive him. it's been many, many years. and if i did not forgive him, i wouldn't have peace. and i sit here today and i have my peace. >> reporter: and a new purpose. >> the 14 year fight for justice has changed andrea and the world around her. she's okay with that. in fact, she embraces it. >> do you consider yourself part of what everybody calls the #metoo movement, the moment that we're having in this culture? >> well, i think, yes, but i'm just proud of everything that has unfolded in the past couple years because we will hold people accountable. we will teach consent. this is just getting started. so, i'm glad to be a part of where it's going and the future

of #metoo, time's up. so, yeah -- i'm in. i'm in. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. good morning. i'm philip mena at msnbc world headquarters in new york. it is 6:00 in the east, 3:00 out west here's what's happening. >> new reporting on the president's two crucial requests to don mcgahn as the information white house counsel gets an ultimatum from house democrats. president trump weighing in days after north korea fired short range missile. tariff hikes on chinese products. political fireworks. the president making moves to change washington's fourth of july celebration. how he plans to take center stage. developing this hour,