The fallen comedian got a surprise earlier today: Bill Cosby charged with aggravated indecent assault. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison. The charge comes from a reopened case involving former Temple University employee Andrea Constand. The alleged drugging and sexual assault occurred at Cosby’s Pennsylvania residence in 2004. A civil lawsuit brought by Constand was settled in 2006.
The fallen comedian got a surprise earlier today: Bill Cosby charged with aggravated indecent assault. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison. The charge comes from a reopened case involving former Temple University employee Andrea Constand. The alleged drugging and sexual assault occurred at Cosby’s Pennsylvania residence in 2004. A civil lawsuit brought by Constand was settled in 2006.
The prosecutor involved at the time of the incident declined to charge Cosby in 2005. The case was reopened this year after Cosby’s testimony in another civil suit was unsealed. In addition, dozens of other victims came forward with similar stories.
Montgomery County First Assistant District Attorney Kevin Steele isn’t wasting time looking back at the way Constand’s case was handled in 2005. He said, “I’m not going to look at the past… It’s not a time to Monday morning quarterback.”
Announcing the charges, Mr. Steele said, “Mr. Cosby made two sexual advances at her that were rejected. Mr. Cosby urged her to take pills that he provided to her and to drink wine… He committed aggravated indecent assault against her.” He stated that Constand was “frozen, paralyzed, unable to move.”
In a deposition, Cosby said that there was consensual sexual contact with Constand. He stated that he put his hands down her pants and fondled her. He further stated that he took her silence as consent.
Constand, on the other hand, insists she was only semi-conscious after Cosby gave her pills that he told her would relax her. Constand’s lawyer stated that she is a lesbian and was, in fact, dating a woman when she met Cosby.
The arraignment itself was relatively uneventful, lasting around 15 minutes. Cosby arrived at the Elkins Park, PA courthouse wearing a spotted gray hooded sweater and carrying a briefcase & cane. Two people were with him and the comedian almost tripped on the sidewalk outside the courthouse. A commenter on another site likened this to the mob bosses of old who appeared in court in wheelchairs in an attempt to garner sympathy. It was well played on Cosby’s part if such was the case here. TV cameras tracked every move the comedian made.
Another good move, this one on the part of Magisterial District Judge Elizabeth A. McHugh, came when she cautioned those in attendance that she wouldn’t tolerate any commotion in her courtroom. She asked Cosby if he understood the charges, he affirmed that he did and then surrendered his passport to the prosecutor. He was given orders not to contact Constand.
Bail was set at $1M. Cosby paid the requisite 10% ($100,000) in cash and left. He refused to give comment to the reporters in attendance.
Regarding the specific charges brought, Mr. Steele said, “This is the charge that we have the ability to go forward [with] under that statute of limitations.”
Several of the alleged assaults have run the statute of limitations, meaning they occurred too long ago (decades in some cases) for charges to be brought. However, Pennsylvania law allows prosecutors up to 12 years to bring charges for certain sex crimes. Constand’s case comes in barely under the wire; the statute of limitation expires in January.
Steele called for other victims or those with more information on Cosby to contact authorities. He said, “There are other alleged victims, and we are examining evidence in that. The charge that we are [announcing] here today involves one victim.”
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