Bill Cosby’s chief accuser set to confront him in court

Bill Cosby’s chief accuser is set to take the witness stand on Friday at his sexual assault retrial, making for a climactic courtroom showdown after five other women told jurors that the man once revered as “America’s Dad” is a serial rapist who harmed them too.

Toronto native Andrea Constand’s appearance is her second chance to confront Cosby in court, since his first trial ended without a verdict. This time, she’s facing a defence team intent on portraying her as a “con artist” who framed him for money.

Constand, who turned 45 on Wednesday, says Cosby drugged and molested her at his suburban Philadelphia mansion in January 2004, when she was a women’s basketball administrator at his alma mater, Temple University.

It’s the only allegation among dozens against Cosby that has led to criminal charges. He says the encounter was consensual, but paid $3.4 million in 2006 to settle a civil lawsuit Constand filed after the district attorney at the time dropped the case.

Cosby lawyer Tom Mesereau told jurors in an opening statement on Tuesday that Constand was a pauper who stiffed roommates on bills, racked up big credit card debt and once ran a Ponzi scheme until she “hit the jackpot” when Cosby paid her.

Cosby spokesman Andrew Wyatt told reporters before he walked into the courthouse with the comedian Friday that defence lawyers expect that “once the jurors hear the testimony of Andrea Constand that they should find Mr. Cosby not guilty of all charges.”