Heidi Thomas holds up a magazine which has a photograph of all the women who accuse Bill Cosby of assault. Thomas says she was a victim of sexual assault by Bill Cosby. (Photo by Kathryn Scott Osler/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

Over 60 women have accused Bill Cosby of sexual assault and misconduct, propelling the nation to face the sordid underbelly of power, misogyny and fame.  Yet, despite galvanizing the most high-profile case of #MeToo movement, scores of accusers devastatingly witnessed the disgraced comedian walk free on Wednesday. In their first statements, they share their collective disdain in the overturned sexual assault conviction and their fears for other survivors whose strides for justice feel thwarted.

Heidi Thomas called the bombshell news “a gut punch.”  Thomas, who also testified in Cosby’s 2018 retrial, says she was sexually assaulted by Cosby at a training session her agent set up with the entertainer. “As of today, the justices that made this decision have just enabled a criminal to go without a consequence, essentially,” Thomas told  Denver7. She went on to ask the very question that activists have been pondering on: “What message is that sending to other victims, to other perpetrators?” She adds, “This is one case, but the precedent they have just set is devastating.”

Many of the woman who came forward with allegations of coercion, assault, and rape had cases that passed the statute of limitations. However, in 2017, Andrea Constand’s case went to trial. She alleged Cosby had gave her what he claimed was an herbal medication that left her incapacitated while he conducted nonconsensual sex. In a statement via Twitter, she wrote, “Today’s majority decision regarding Bill Cosby is not only disappointing but of concern in that it may discourage those who seek justice for sexual assault in the criminal justice system from reporting or participating in the prosecution of the assailant.”

The shocking news comes just after he was denied parole in May for refusing to participate in a therapy program sexually violent predators. While celebs (like his former co-star Phylicia Rashad) rejoice with glee, the teeming presumption of innocence is even more detrimental to the critical work that survivors have endured to dismantle the power structures of misogyny and rape culture. In a statement to CNN, Lise-Lotte Lublin (who accused Cosby of sexually assaulting her in 1989) said, “A technicality doesn’t make you innocent. It means something went wrong in the system.”