Kirsters Baish| Bill Cosby used to be viewed as an American icon. America saw him as an actor, a father, a husband, a family man. He had it all, which makes his fall from grace a rather rude awakening. The once loved comedian and television star was found guilty on Thursday of three counts of aggravated indecent assault. The trial which lasted for years was finally over, in an ending in which Cosby will likely spend his remaining years in prison. Roughly 60 women accused the former star of drugging and raping them.

Cosby how now reportedly received more bad news. He will be stripped of a very prestigious honorary degree. As reported by the Baltimore Sun, “The Johns Hopkins University has decided to rescind Bill Cosby’s honorary degree, hours after a jury returned a guilty verdict on charges the comedian drugged and molested Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home 14 years ago.”

Dennis O’Shea, a spokesman for Hopkins, said, “As a university, we stand in firm opposition to sexual assault, whether on our campuses or elsewhere. This decision underscores that opposition.”

The former actor had been granted the honorary degree in 2004. This was the same year that he was accused of having sexually assaulted Andrea Constand. The University claims that they did not know anything about the allegations at the time of the degree.

Conservative Tribune reports:

The comedian has not yet been sentenced, but jail time is certainly not off the table. That could mean a de facto life sentence for Cosby, who is 80-years-old and in poor health.

It’s a disappointing final chapter for a man who was once one of the most famous people in America. Bill Cosby became a household name — and face — during the 1970s and 80s, with his much-loved “The Cosby Show” influencing culture for at least a generation.

Cosby was seen by many as a positive black role model. With actress Phylicia Rashad, the onscreen duo of Cliff and Clair Huxtable — a doctor and a lawyer, respectively — was a frequent reminder that America was a land of opportunity for anyone willing to work hard, regardless of their skin color.

As we are finding out now, a lot of who Cosby was on television wasn’t who he was in real life. There was a much darker side to the “family man” behind the scenes.

“Today, we’re finally in a place to say that justice was done. … We now know who the real Bill Cosby is,” explained District Attorney Kevin Steele, the prosecutor Cosby’s case.

Steele spoke about a point in the trial in which Cosby became extremely angry. He quickly jumped out of his seat and screamed obscenities at the attorney.

USA Today reported that Steele stated, “Everybody got a brief view of who he really is. He was an actor for a long time. It was an act.”

The verdict left dozens of women sighing in relief after years of pain and suffering.

“The Cosby verdict is a long-awaited and symbolic victory for many survivors of sexual violence,” stated Kristen Houser, spokeswoman for the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

“It brings hope that justice can be served when victims are finally ready to enter the court system, that it is possible for the truth to be heard, even if it is years after the assault,” she went on.

Conservative Tribune writes:

There are many lessons from Cosby’s slow fall from glory. One is just how filthy and corrupt Hollywood seems to be, with many of its most famous stars now exposed as criminals and sexual predators. Perhaps Tinseltown should look in the mirror before so often lecturing the rest of the country.

The biggest takeaway, however, is that fame cannot conceal a rotten character forever. It may be able to mask it temporarily, but truth and reality have a way of coming to the surface. We should remember that, before we put any smiling figure on a pedestal.