Bill Cosby’s mugshot. Photo courtesy of Heavy.
Summary: Bill Cosby appeared at his first pretrial hearing for the alleged rape of a Temple University employee.
Today, a Pennsylvania judge ruled that Bill Cosby’s sexual assault case will proceed to trial. He faces three counts of felony indecent assault that stemmed from an alleged 2004 rape of Temple University employee Andrea Constand. The school was Cosby’s alma mater, and he frequently donated there.
As previously predicted, Constand was not in court. ABC News had stated she would not have to attend because it is becoming more common for prosecutors to use victim’s police statements in lieu of real-person testimony in pre-trial hearings. The intent of this is to spare victims of added trauma.
One of Cosby’s defense lawyers, Brian McMonagle, said the use of Constand’s 11-year-old police statement was “allowing hearsay” and was “wrong.” While Constand was not in attendance, police officer Katherine Hart described her statement to the Montgomery County Detective’s office.
- To learn more about the cost of Cosby’s defense, read this article: Bill Cosby’s Legal Bills Already in Millions
During this pretrial, the prosecution was responsible in proving that there was a preponderance of evidence that Cosby committed a crime. The judge then ruled whether or not there was enough evidence to move to trial. If convicted, Cosby could face ten years in prison.
JD Journal reported in December that Pennsylvania prosecutors filed felony assault charges against the formerly beloved comedian on Constand’s behalf. Constand was an employee at Temple University in 2004 when she met Cosby. She alleged that he drugged and raped her, and in 2005, she reported the incident. The district attorney at the time did not follow through with the case because she felt it was unwinnable. However, as numerous other alleged victims came forward, the current District Attorney decided to move forward, filing charges and just barely missing the deadline for the statute of limitations.
According to CNN, Constand “was the first person to publicly allege sexual assault by Cosby.”
The formerly beloved comedian has been accused of rape by more than 50 women, and he denies all of their allegations.
In February, Cosby sued Constand for violating the terms of their 2006 settlement, and recently TMZ published lurid details from it. According to documents obtained, Cosby had sex with Constand when she was a teenager, and he admitted that he had her masturbate him with lotion. He also admitted to sex with a 19-year-old model, and that he had his agent at the William Morris Agency pay her off so that his wife would not find out.
- To learn more about Cosby’s lead defense lawyer, read this article: Who is Monique Pressley?
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