Bill Cosby' Original Accuser Andrea Constand Opens Up About His Guilty Verdict on 'Dateline'

Andrea Constand, the first woman to accuse Bill Cosby of drugging and raping her, opens up about why she first came forward in a Dateline special

In an exclusive interview with NBC’s Dateline that airs Friday night, Andrea Constand, the first woman to accuse Bill Cosby of drugging and raping her in 2005, opens up about his guilty verdict — and how the 13-year ordeal has affected her life.

“She’s clearly pleased with the outcome,” says Dateline’s National Senior Correspondent Kate Snow, who conducted the exclusive interview. “She feels that justice has finally been served. She didn’t know what to expect. This is his second trial this year, and the first ended in a hung jury, so she really went in thinking, ‘I don’t know what the verdict will be, but I’m going to be okay either way.'”

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Snow says that when the guilty verdict was read, Constand didn’t break down or start cheering. “She was very calm. She called her mom, called her friends,” says Snow. “And then it hit her. This really was a 13-year journey.”

Constand also opens up to Snow about why she finally decided to go to the police to tell them Cosby had drugged a raped her, a year after the incident first occurred.

“Part of what held her back is she thought no one would believe her,” Snow says. “She knew she was taking on a juggernaut, this Cosby machine. It wasn’t pleasant, and it hasn’t been easy.”

Still, after Constand’s story became news back in 2005, 13 other women came forwar, announcing they would testify in her civil case that the same thing had happened to them.

“One woman after another started coming forward until eventually there were 50 accusers,” says Snow. In her interview, Snow asked Constant why she continued to testify against Cosby, even after winning an earlier civil case against him.

“She says she kept going because of the other women,” says Snow. “You’ll see this in the special, but she says that when she was asked if she would testify again in 2015? There was no hesitation. None.”

Bringing Down Bill Cosby: Andrea Constand Speaks airs Friday at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.