Bill Cosby latest: Former TV star, 80, found guilty of drugging and sexually assaulting woman in 2004

US comedian Bill Cosby has been found guilty of sexual assault in the highest profile sexual assault case since the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke.

Cosby stood accused of drugging and molesting former Temple University basketball administrator Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia mansion in 2004.

The former American national treasure, 80, could end up spending his final years in prison after a jury concluded he did sexually assault Ms Constand. He claimed the encounter was consensual.

Cosby faced increased scrutiny over sexual assault allegations in the wake of a string of accusation against Hollywood producer Weinstein and the rising #MeToo movement.

The verdict came after a two-week retrial in which prosecutors put five other women on the stand who testified that Cosby, married for 54 years, also drugged and violated them.

One of those women asked him through her tears, "You remember, don't you, Mr. Cosby?"

Prosecutor Kristen Feden said Cosby was "nothing like the image that he played on TV" as sweater-wearing, wisdom-dispensing father of five Dr. Cliff Huxtable on "The Cosby Show."

The panel of seven men and five women reached a verdict after deliberating 14 hours over two days, vindicating prosecutors' decision to retry Cosby after his first trial ended with a hung jury less than a year ago.

Cosby could get up to 10 years in prison on each of the three counts of aggravated indecent assault.

He is likely to get less than that under state sentencing guidelines, but given his age, even a modest term could mean he will die behind bars.

Testifying under oath in 2005 as part of Constand's civil suit against him, Cosby said he had obtained several prescriptions for quaaludes from his doctor in Los Angeles in the 1970s, ostensibly for a sore back.

The long-married comedian said he never took the drug, instead giving it to women he wanted to have sex with "the same as a person would say, `Have a drink."'

Cosby acknowledged giving pills to Constand before their sexual encounter. But he identified them as the over-the-counter cold and allergy medicine Benadryl and insisted they were meant to help her relax.

Additional reporting by the Press Association