Bill Cosby lawyer labels charges political

For years, as Bill Cosby and his lawyers rebutted accusations that he was a sexual predator, his defenders could point to one incontrovertible fact: He had never been charged with a crime.

Cosby, who makes his home mostly in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, testified that he obtained quaaludes in the 1970s to give to women “the same as a person would say, ‘Have a drink.'” He denied giving women drugs without their knowledge.

It was sent Thursday night from Cosby’s Twitter account.

The 78-year-old Cosby was charged on Wednesday with sexually assaulting an employee at Temple University, his alma mater, in 2004. Cosby allegedly drugged Constand before penetrating her with his fingers. The election pit the former DA, Bruce Castor – the man who in 2005 announced he would not pursue charges against Cosby based on Andrea Constand’s allegations of assault – against Assistant District Attorney Kevin Steele.

It will be the first criminal case against Cosby over his conduct with women, which has received new scrutiny in the past year.

He was her mentor and one of the most famous people to have attended Temple University, Pennsylvania, where she worked as a director of operations for the women’s basketball programme. Also at Cosby’s insistence, she said she took some sips of wine, only to find 20 to 30 minutes later that her vision had blurred, she had difficulty speaking and her legs felt “rubbery”.

The aggravated indecent assault charges filed against Cosby stem from an early 2004 incident, according to court records.

Thomson ReutersActor and comedian Bill Cosby arrives with attorney for his arraignment on sexual assault charges at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania(Reuters) – Comedian Bill Cosby’s lawyer characterized the sexual assault case against him as a “political football” and said on Thursday the entertainer will not consider any plea deals because he is not guilty of a crime.

In Indiana, prosecutors can now file rape charges after the state’s five-year deadline if new evidence is discovered.

Constand said in 2005 that after she and Cosby became friends he invited her to his home in Pennsylvania, where he made multiple sexual advances over time. She also sued Cosby in civil court in Montgomery County and settled out of court. The statute of limitations is due to expire at the end of January.

The statute of limitations to bring charges against Cosby runs out in January.

The irony of Bill Cosby has been evident for months: a beloved father figure, a public moralist, accused again and again and again of being a sexual predator, of taking advantage of his public standing for years.

Wearing a black-and-white hooded sweater into court, Cosby seemed to have trouble seeing the paperwork and finding the place to sign, and his lawyers helped him hold the pen.

Constand, who has sought in court to unseal the record of her civil case and settlement with Cosby, said in legal documents filed in July that she is a lesbian, despite his sworn assertions that their encounter was consensual and that he has a knack for reading women’s cues.

“She’ll do whatever they request of her”.

“Probably it is going to be the highest-profile criminal case in this country, at least involving a celebrity”, she said. After more than 50 women have since come forward with similar stories of abuse at Cosby’s hand, prosecutors recently reopened Constand’s case.

“You have to say this is a curious case for the prosecution to bring since nothing has really changed other than these other women came forward”, said Isabelle A. Kirshner, a criminal defense attorney. But the then-county prosecutor declined to charge him, saying there was not enough evidence by the time she went to police. “We see that with victims of all ages”.