Jury may soon hear from Cosby, even if he doesn’t take stand

Andrea Constand testifies during Bill Cosby’s trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse on June 6, 2017 in Norristown, Pennsylvania.

Bill Cosby accuser Andrea Constand on the third day of Cosby’s sexual assault trial, June 7, 2017. Constand alleges that after she was incapacitated by the pills, Cosby sexually assaulted her.

(Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Pool Photo via AP).

Grilling Bill Cosby’s sexual-assault accuser in her second day on the stand, defense counsel worked Wednesday to undermine Andrea Constand’s credibility.

Her long-awaited showdown with the 79-year-old comedian’s lawyers became bogged down on Wednesday in an examination of her phone records and police statements – but the defence could not budge her off her account of molestation.

THE DEFENSE RESPONDS: Cosby’s lawyer pressed Constand on the nature of the relationship, suggesting she’d enjoyed a romantic dinner with him and he’d signaled his interest by touching her thigh and trying to unbutton her trousers.

“The room was dark, and there was a nice mood in the room, correct?” she said. Agrusa began, paraphrasing Constand’s 2005 statement to police.

“I said I trust you”, she recalled saying at the time.

The Cosby case is ongoing, but here’s hoping for the alleged victims’ sakes that the trial and its conclusion will continue to shine light on the obstacles presented by an imperfect justice system.

“I did not place that many, but there were several, yes”, Constand said, maintaining composure throughout the over three-hour cross-examination, sharing that any information not immediately disclosed to police was simply because she hadn’t been asked.

At the same time, she said, Mr Cosby became more flirtatious and suggestive – grabbing her thigh at his home and attempting to unbutton her trousers another time.

The Cosby Show star has pleaded not guilty to three charges of aggravated indecent assault relating to the encounter with Constand, a former employee at his alma mater, Temple University.

“But there was sexual contact between you and Mr. Cosby on two evenings”, Agrusa said. If convicted, Cosby could face up to 10 years in prison.

Much of the cross-examination focused on 16 March, 2004 – the date Ms Constand initially told police the alleged assault occurred. But reporter Steph Watts told Radar that her testimony was devastating.

Pierro, who moved to D.C. a month ago from Peru, countered and said, “I don’t think the jury makeup will play a huge role into it”.

“It doesn’t matter”, she said in response to another question, accusing the lawyer of trying to test her memory with “irrelevant things”. Already, Cosby’s defense team has leaned on the sympathy of the jurors for Cosby as a “grandfather”-like figure”. Jurors listened to the phone recording while Jonathan Perrone, computer operations supervisor in the district attorney’s office, displayed a transcript of the recorded conversation on a giant projection screen.

A day after she confronted her alleged attacker in court for the first time, Bill Cosby accuser Andrea Constand faced a challenge from his lawyers. Johnson said that she had lotion on her hand and Cosby made her touch his penis, she said.

Montgomery County Deputy D.A. Kristen Feden highlighted Constand’s phone record pattern of calling her own cell number, which indicated checking her voicemail, then placing a call to Cosby, then a member on Temple University’s Board of Trustees.

Speaking outside the court she said: “It was off and it rang”. She says she shot down the actor’s casual advances before she found herself paralyzed and unable to fight him off the night she took pills he said were herbal supplements.

“I told them the truth”, Constand replied.