El Dorado News-Times

Bill Cosby faces 2nd sex assault trial after jury deadlocks

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NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Bill Cosby, the comedian and actor once known as "America's Dad" for his TV role as paternal Dr. Cliff Huxtable, avoided a conviction on Father's Day weekend as a jury declared itself hopelessly deadlocked on charges he drugged and molested a woman more than a decade ago.

Prosecutor­s found themselves back to square one Saturday after the judge declared a mistrial following more than 52 hours of deliberati­ons over six days.

Excoriated by the defense for charging Cosby in the first place, District Attorney Kevin Steele vowed to put him on trial a second time, saying accuser Andrea Constand supported the decision.

"She has shown such courage through this, and we are in awe of what she has done," Steele said. "She's entitled to a verdict in this case."

Cosby's team declared victory, however temporary.

By sowing doubt among one or more jurors, Cosby's lawyers managed to overcome two years of unrelentin­g bad publicity for their client after the public release of his damaging testimony about drugs and sex, as well as a barrage of accusation­s from 60 women who came forward to accuse him of sexual assault.

Constand told jurors Cosby gave her pills that made her woozy and then penetrated her with his fingers as she lay paralyzed on a couch, unable to tell him to stop. The 2004 encounter at Cosby's suburban Philadelph­ia estate was the only one to result in criminal charges.

Constand is ready to go to trial again, said her lawyer, Dolores Troiani.

"She's a very spiritual woman, she believes things happen for a purpose, and I think the purpose is ... it should encourage other women to come forward and have their day in court."

Troiani acknowledg­ed the difficulty of the case, given the passage of time and the impact of the alleged drugging on Constand's ability to recall details.

The jury failed to reach a unanimous decision on any of the three counts against the comedian, ending the trial without a verdict.

Cosby's team immediatel­y went on the attack.

The entertaine­r's wife of 53 years, Camille, slammed prosecutor­s for bringing the case to court, calling Steele "heinously and exploitive­ly ambitious" in a statement released after the trial. She also criticized the judge, the accuser's lawyers and the media.

"How do I describe the judge? Overtly arrogant, collaborat­ing with the district attorney," said her statement, which was tweeted by her husband and read by an associate of the public relations firm representi­ng Cosby.

Cosby himself didn't comment, remaining stoic as the judge declared a mistrial, but Wyatt declared the star's "power is back. It has been restored."

That seemed debatable. Cosby's career and good-guy image were already in tatters by the time his chief accuser took the witness stand, and the prosecutio­n's decision to pursue a second trial keeps him in legal limbo.

Cosby had broken barriers as the first black actor to star in a network show, "I Spy," in the 1960s and, two decades later, created the top-ranked "Cosby Show." He also found success with his "Fat Albert" animated TV show and starred in commercial­s for Jell-O pudding.

But it was Cosby's reputation as a public moralist who urged young people to pull up their saggy pants and start acting responsibl­y that prompted a federal judge to unseal portions of an explosive deposition he gave more than a decade ago as part of Constand's civil lawsuit against him.

Under questionin­g from her lawyer, Cosby acknowledg­ed that he had obtained several prescripti­ons for quaaludes in the 1970s for the purpose of offering the powerful sedative to women he wanted to have sex with.

 ?? Associated Press ?? Cosby: Andrew Wyatt raises his fist as Bill Cosby exits the Montgomery County Courthouse after a mistrial was declared in Norristown, Pa. on Saturday. Cosby's trial ended without a verdict after jurors failed to reach a unanimous decision.
Associated Press Cosby: Andrew Wyatt raises his fist as Bill Cosby exits the Montgomery County Courthouse after a mistrial was declared in Norristown, Pa. on Saturday. Cosby's trial ended without a verdict after jurors failed to reach a unanimous decision.

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