On Tuesday, much-loved entertainer Bill Cosby appeared at Montgomery County Court in Morristown, Pa. Facing charges of sexual assault, Mr. Cosby attended a pretrial hearing hoping to persuade a judge to dismiss charges against him.
Some 50 women have come forward with allegations of sexual assault or misconduct against the TV personality to date. Yesterday’s hearing involves the case of ex-Temple University head of basketball Andrea Constand, and dates from alleged events from 2004.
In the only criminal case brought against Cosby amidst so many allegations, it seems dismissal by the judge remains a real possibility. A man identified by Cosby’s legal team as a key witness, Former District Attorney Bruce Castor, admitted on record to there being “credibility issues” with the accuser, Miss Constand. It comes in the same week when another accuser, former model Chloe Goins, abandoned her civil suit against the comedian.
The defence argues Cosby was granted immunity from prosecution from an earlier settlement with Constand. In that hearing he gave a deposition he gave Quaaludes to women he wanted to have sex with. Mr Castor’s comments on the reliability of the accuser in this case must bring hope to Cosby’s legal team.
With reference to the previous settlement, Castor remarked, “I came to the conclusion that there was no way that the case could ever improve and get better with time, absent Mr. Cosby’s confession…Andrea Constand’s own actions during that year ruined her credibility as a viable witness.”
It had been heard Constand had contacted a lawyer before the police after the alleged assault stemming from 2004, and had been in frequent contact with Cosby in the months thereafter.
Mr Cosby’s pre-trial hearing will continue today, when it is expected the judge will make a decision on whether or not to continue to trial. Yesterday by 5pm Mr Cosby was reported as looking tired and frail, and was assisted from the court by minders at the conclusion of events.
