Last year the public learned that Bill Cosby admitted he regularly bought Methaqualone, a sedative and sleep-inducing drug for women he wanted to have sex with.
Since, Cosby has been charged with three felony counts of aggravated indecent assault as a result of sexual contact with former Temple University basketball staffer Andrea Constand in his Philadelphia home in 2004.
Cosby has always maintained that the acts were consensual, however, the prosecution argues they weren’t.
Cosby has spent decades building a good-guy reputation as a father and family man, both on and off-screen. His net worth is estimated at around $400 million.
An unsealed deposition in 2015 brought about by Constand revealed that Cosby had a long history of extramarital liaisons with young women that he would give Methaqualone, a sedative and sleep inducing drug prior to having unconscious sex with them.
Since the news was made public, 13 other women have also come forward, with their own accounts of sexual assault by Cosby.
Clearly, Cosby’s attorneys want to stop these 13 women from taking the stand, fearing that their testimony about unrelated events could sway the juries decision. The women would be describing situations that took place decades ago, situations that would be highly difficult to refute. The statute of limitations for bringing legal action against those cases have expired.
Cosby has been the subject of sexual assault allegations for decades. He has been accused by over 60 women of rape, drug-facilitated sexual assault, sexual battery, child sexual abuse and sexual misconduct with the earliest alleged incidents dating back to the mid-1960s with the most recent being 2008.
As we have seen in the past with other celebrities such as Rolf Harris and “Hey Dad” star Robert Hughes, Cosby clearly capitalized on his celebrity status to seduce younger women.
Numerous lawsuits are pending however all but one fall outside the statutes of limitations. The one notable case served by the prosecutors representing Andrea Constand has been deemed actionable.
Constand filed a police complaint in 2005 over the encounter at Cosby’s home. The district attorney at the time said the case was too weak to prosecute. But a new set of prosecutors charged Cosby a year and a half ago after the deposition became public and numerous women came forward.
Cosby avoided a trial after four days of deposition testimony and negotiating a confidential settlement with Constand in 2006. The TV star admitted under oath that he gave Andrea Constand pills and touched her genitals as she lay on his couch at his suburban Philadelphia mansion.
Clearly not satisfied with the result and wanting a larger settlement, she has now taken criminal action.
Cosby’s lawyers have spent the last 18 months trying to have her criminal case thrown out, as Cosby claims he only testified after being promised he could never be charged.
They will argue that the case is impossible to defend, as witnesses have died, memories have faded and Cosby, “they say” is now blind.
The District Attorney Kevin Steel has one other accuser who will be allowed to testify, who claims Cosby’s conduct with Constand was part of a signature crime pattern.
This woman worked for Cosby’s agent and said that Cosby drugged and assaulted her in 1996 in a Los Angeles hotel.
Cosby surrendered to authorities in December of 2015 and was released on $1 million bail with restrictions until trial.
Looking frail and at times supported by actress Keshia Knight Pulliam, who played his daughter Rudy on the top-rated “Cosby Show” in the 1980s and ’90s, Cosby attends court to profess his innocence. Cosby’s trial is well and truly underway in Pennsylvania and if convicted, could face a 10-year jail sentence.
