The U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday without comment that it would not review Bill CosbyB次元官网网址檚 sexual assault case, leaving him a free man and ending a two-decade legal drama that shifted the cultural landscape, destroyed the groundbreaking Black actorB次元官网网址檚 reputation, and sent him to prison for several years in his late 70s.

The high court B次元官网网址� whose nine members include two men accused of sexual misconduct themselves B次元官网网址� declined to review a that released Cosby from prison in June over the word of a former prosecutor who said he had made a secret promise with CosbyB次元官网网址檚 lawyers that he could never be charged.

A Cosby spokesperson expressed B次元官网网址渟incere gratitude to the justicesB次元官网网址� on behalf of Cosby and his family for the announcement and said he was the victim of B次元官网网址渁 reprehensible bait and switchB次元官网网址� by the prosecutor and trial judge in the case.

B次元官网网址淭his is truly a victory for Mr. Cosby, but it shows that cheating will never get you far in life, and the corruption that lies within Montgomery County DistrictB次元官网网址檚 Attorney Office has been brought to the center stage of the world,B次元官网网址� spokesperson Andrew Wyatt said.

The 84-year-old Cosby, according to Wyatt, remains in good health despite being legally blind. He said that B次元官网网址渕any people are calling for projects for himB次元官网网址� and that he is considering a final standup tour.

Accuser Andrea Constand planned to issue a statement later in the day.

District Attorney Kevin Steele in suburban PhiladelphiaB次元官网网址檚 Montgomery County said in a statement that asking the high court to revive the case B次元官网网址渨as the right thing to do,B次元官网网址� even if it was a long shot. He thanked Constand for her courage and wished her well.

B次元官网网址淎ll crime victims deserve to be heard, treated with respect and be supported through their day in court,B次元官网网址� Steele said.

Steele has said thereB次元官网网址檚 no evidence that Cosby had a legally binding agreement that he could never be prosecuted.

His predecessor, Bruce L. Castor Jr., never put it in writing or told anyone in his office about it. He never mentioned it in public until new evidence emerged and the case was reopened a decade later.

B次元官网网址淎 secret agreement that permits a wealthy defendant to buy his way out of a criminal case isnB次元官网网址檛 right,B次元官网网址� Steele argued in court in 2016 as he pressed to send the case to trial.

Montgomery County Judge Steven OB次元官网网址橬eill found CastorB次元官网网址檚 testimony on the point not credible and sent the case to trial. However, the state Supreme Court later ruled that whether or not the supposed agreement was legally binding, Cosby relied on it when he gave eye-popping B次元官网网址� and potentially incriminating B次元官网网址� testimony in a lawsuit later filed by Constand.

B次元官网网址淭he principle of fundamental fairness that undergirds due process of law in our criminal justice system demands that the promise be enforced,B次元官网网址� Justice David N. Wecht wrote last year.

, a seemingly free-wheeling Cosby gave long, stream-of-consciousness answers to questions from ConstandB次元官网网址檚 lawyers. He detailed his sexual involvement with a string of young women, a few still in their teens, over the years. And he recalled giving several of them, including Constand, alcohol or pills while he remained sober.

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 hear her say anything. And I donB次元官网网址檛 feel her say anything. And so I continue and I go into the area that is somewhere between permission and rejection. I am not stopped,B次元官网网址� Cosby said in the 2006 deposition, describing a sexual encounter that came after he gave her three pills for stress, which she said knocked her out.

He was arrested in the Constand case on Dec. 30, 2015, just days before the 12-year statute of limitations expired. Steele had reopened the case after The Associated Press went to federal court to unseal CosbyB次元官网网址檚 long-buried testimony in ConstandB次元官网网址檚 lawsuit.

Cosby, after giving four days of testimony, had paid her $3.4 million to settle the case.

He went on trial in the criminal case in June 2017. The jury could not reach a verdict. Less than a year later B次元官网网址� after media reports about media mogul of women galvanized the #MeToo movement B次元官网网址� a second jury convicted Cosby of drugging and molesting Constand.

The AP does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission. Constand has done so.

Scores of women have come forward to say Cosby also sexually assaulted them, but ConstandB次元官网网址檚 is the only one that led to an arrest. His insurer, against CosbyB次元官网网址檚 wishes, settled a Massachusetts lawsuit involving seven accusers for an undisclosed amount after the 2018 conviction. At least two other against the actor.

Castor, who said he made the deal with Cosby, later represented former President Donald Trump at his second impeachment trial, at which Trump was acquitted of inciting the violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Castor said he declined to arrest Cosby in 2005 based in part on his belief that both parties B次元官网网址渃ould be held in less than a flattering light.B次元官网网址� Constand later sued Castor for defamation and from him. Castor countersued Constand, but the judge threw it out.

B次元官网网址擬aryclaire Dale, The Associated Press