Cosby goes on trial accused of sexual assault
Comedian accused of drugging victim denies sexual assault and points to changes in her story
Bill Cosby is a philandering husband but never acted without consent, his lawyers have insisted, as they sought to defend him against charges of sexual assault. Cosby, in his prime a much-loved American icon, is on trial over three counts of aggravated indecent assault.
BILL COSBY is a philandering husband but never acted without consent, his lawyers have insisted, as they set out to defend him in a much anticipated trial on charges for sexual assault.
Cosby, in his prime a much-loved American icon, is charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault following accusations from Andrea Constand that he drugged and sexually assaulted her at his home in 2004.
The case was about “truth, betrayal, and the inability to consent”, said Kristen Feden, as she set out the prosecution’s arguments. “This man used his power and his fame and his previously practised method of placing a young woman in an incapacitated state so he could pleasure himself,” she said.
“The last words she remembers were: ‘These will help you relax.’ And as she drifted in and out of consciousness, her body was used to sexually gratify that man.”
However, Brian Mcmonagle, the lawyer acting for 79-year-old Cosby, denied there was any incapacity from the drugs, which he insisted were to help calm the stressed Canadian basketball coach. He painted a picture of Cosby as someone who admitted to cheating on his wife of 53-years multiple times, but always had consent.
Cosby had arrived at court supported by actress Keshia Knight Pulliam, who played his daughter Rudy on The Cosby Show. His wife and four daughters – his son Ennis was murdered in 1996 – were absent. “As you look there, what do you see?” Mr Mcmonagle asked the jury, pointing across the wood-panelled room to Cosby. “Some of you might see a famed comedian, who made us smile at times of our lives when it was hard to smile. Some of you might see a fallen husband, whose infidelity made him vulnerable. Some of you might see a man who has achieved greatness, and suffered personal tragedy. I hope what you will see is just a citizen.”
Mr Mcmonagle, who said Cosby’s life had been destroyed by “false accusations”, hit back at the prosecution’s efforts to warn the jury that they should not be swayed by variations in her story. Miss Constand, now 44, initially
‘Some of you might see a fallen husband, whose infidelity made him vulnerable’
told police that the encounter took place after a dinner at a restaurant; she later said there had been no meal. She also stated at first that it happened on March 16, 2004, before clarifying that it was in January. And she told police that she had not been in contact with Cosby after the night, only to then accept that they had spoken several times and met in person.
Mr Mcmonagle said that phone records show the two spoke 72 times after mid-january – and two-thirds of the calls were initiated by Miss Constand.
Psychologists have said that such confusion is common after trauma.
“If he tries to distract you with Andrea’s conduct after the event, I ask you to remember that no one can predict how they will act after an event like that,” said Ms Feden. Mr Mcmonagle’s voice rose to a shout as he responded.
“It’s not a distraction,” he boomed. “It can destroy his future.”
The prosecution made much of Cosby’s own sworn testimony, provided in 2005 in a civil suit. The then-district attorney, Bruce Castor, decided that Miss Constand’s changing statements would prevent him securing a conviction. Mr Castor’s decision enabled Miss Constand to file a civil suit, and that testimony was made public in 2015. Shortly afterwards, the newly elected district attorney, Kevin Steele, told Miss Constand he wanted to proceed with a criminal case, and Cosby was arrested in December 2015 – just days before the statute of limitations ran out. Of almost 60 other women who have come forward to accuse him, all but Miss Constand have found their cases fell outside the statute of limitations.
In the testimony Cosby admitted giving Miss Constand drugs. He admitted apologising to her mother, when confronted – something the defence say was only because he was married.
Yesterday the court heard from the only other accuser permitted by Judge Steven O’neill to testify. Kelly Johnson claimed that in 1996, when she was 34, she was drugged and sexually assaulted by Cosby at the Bel Air Hotel. She said she was given a pill by Cosby, then was sexually assaulted as she began to lose consciousness.
She was working at the time at the William Morris talent agency in Los Angeles, as an assistant to Cosby’s agent. Asked by the defence why she did not go to the police or tell her story until 2015, she said: “I was humiliated and embarrassed. I was very afraid because I had a secret about the biggest celebrity in the world at that time.”
The case is expected to last two weeks. If convicted, Cosby faces up to 10 years in jail.