Woman testifies Cosby drugged, sexually assaulted her
NORRISTOWN » Coming faceto-face for the first time since she accused entertainment icon Bill Cosby of sexually assaulting her, a former Temple University athletic department employee revealed the sordid details of the assault to a jury in a very public forum.
A hush came over the Montgomery County courtroom when Andrea Constand, 44, walked to the witness box where she testified Cosby sexually assaulted her at his Cheltenham mansion in January 2004 after plying her with “three blue pills” and wine.
“I began slurring my words. I also told Mr. Cosby I had trouble seeing him. I could see two of him. My mouth was cottony,” said Constand, recalling her reaction after swallowing the pills that she believed were herbal.
Constand, who testified she went to Cosby’s home to get career advice, said her legs were “rubbery” and she became concerned and was “panicking a little bit” after having a reaction to the pills. The former director of women’s basketball operations at Temple said Cosby placed her on a couch, touched her breasts, forced her to touch his penis and had other sexual contact with her.
“I was frozen. I was very limp so I wasn’t able to fight in any way. I wanted it to stop,” said Constand, who wiped tears from her eyes at times but for the most part remained composed while being questioned by Assistant District Attorney Kristen Feden.
Constand said when she awoke hours later she found her clothes disheveled, her bra undone and as she went to leave the mansion Cosby gave her a muffin and some tea.
Constand claimed on a later date she confronted Cosby to try to determine what pills he had provided to her.
“Mr. Cosby said to me, ‘I thought you had an orgasm, didn’t you?” Constand recalled.
Cosby, who turns 80 in July and is reportedly legally blind, appeared to listen attentively to Constand’s testimony, occasionally consulted with his lawyers but did not show any outward reaction.
The jury of seven men and five women appeared riveted to Constand’s testimony which lasted about four hours on Tuesday.
During the start of the cross-examination of Constand, defense lawyer Angela C. Agrusa suggested Constand gave inconsistent statements to investigators concerning her contact with Cosby before and after the alleged incident and implied her testimony cannot be trusted.
Specifically, testimony revealed Constand initially told detectives she had limited phone contact with Cosby after the alleged incident, however, phone records showed she had called him 53 times. Constand also told authorities she had never been alone with Cosby before the night of the alleged incident, but testimony revealed she had previously been alone with Cosby on two other occasions when he made “suggestive” or sexual advances toward her.
Constand responded that she was “mistaken” or “confused” and overwhelmed when she provided some of the statements.
Constand will be back in the witness box again on Wednesday as Cosby’s lawyers continue their cross-examination.
At one point Constand was asked why she continued to have contact with Cosby after he made sexual advances toward her on occasions that occurred prior to the alleged assault, including attempting to unzip her pants during one visit to his home.
“I trusted him. I wasn’t scared of him in any way,” said Constand. “He was a Temple friend, somebody I trusted, a mentor and somewhat of an older figure to me.”
Referring to the actor as “Mr. Cosby” throughout her testimony, Constand admitted she had given him gifts in the past to thank him for invitations to dinner and other events. The gifts, she said, included hats, T-shirts and “some bath salts for him and his wife.”
Cosby’s wife, Camille, was not in court on Tuesday and has not appeared at any of his court hearings.
Constand did not report the alleged January 2004 assault to authorities until January 2005 after she returned home to Canada.
The first law enforcement official to take a statement from Constand was Detective David Mason of the Durham Regional Police Service in Ontario, Canada according to testimony. Mason testified he responded to Constand’s home in Pickering, about 10 p.m. Jan. 13, 2005, at which time Constand revealed the alleged sexual assault.
“She showed us a few photographs of herself and Mr. Cosby to show that she did know him,” Mason told the jury.
During the interview, Constand, according to Mason, recalled “something foreign” in her body during the sexual assault.
Mason testified Constand claimed she didn’t report the 2004 incident to police until a year later because she was embarrassed by it and because of Cosby’s profile in the community.
William Henry Cosby Jr., as his name appears on charging documents, faces three felony counts of aggravated indecent assault in connection with the alleged sexual assault. The charges were lodged against Cosby before the 12-year statute of limitations to file charges expired.
The newspaper does not normally identify victims of sex crimes without their consent but is using Constand’s name because she has identified herself publicly.