In this update, a Pennsylvania judge says there will be no new preliminary hearings in the sexual assault case against Bill Cosby.
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Bill Cosby arrives at the Montgomery County Courthouse for a preliminary hearing on May 24th, 2016, in Norristown.
In December, Montgomery County prosecutors filed the first criminal charges against Cosby after more than 50 women came out accusing the entertainer of sexual misconduct.
The actor’s legal team argued they have been allowed to cross-examine Andrea Constand during the hearing earlier this year. O’Neill said that a 2013 change in state court rules cleared the way for prosecutors to use those statements and other evidence in lieu of forcing Constand to take the witness stand before trial. The woman said Cosby, now 78, drugged and molested her. Cosby maintains that he gave Benadryl to Constand because she’d complained about sleep trouble and that relations were consensual.
However, Tayback in his argument cited a Bucks County case in which Bucks Judge Gary B. Gilman ruled in favor of the defense in a case where a Warrington detective testified at the preliminary hearing rather than the victim.
Once one of the best-known USA entertainers thanks to shows including The Cosby Show and Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids, Cosby is facing accusations of sexual assault from dozens of women dating back decades.
“The commonwealth does not have to put witnesses on the stand”, O’Neill said in court.
Tayback said prosecutors were using “hearsay evidence” improperly, robbing Cosby of his constitutional right to confront his accuser while relying on an 11-year-old statement plagued with inconsistencies.
Cosby was present at Thursday’s hearing, often whispering with his lawyers and nodding his head as the proceedings went on.
After Thursday’s ruling, Cosby lawyer Brian McMonagle said he was confident Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court will reverse the decision.
O’Neill has denied a request by Cosby’s lawyers to throw out the case against him. The decision stems from allegations of aggravated sexual assault during a 2004 encounter between the pair.
District Attorney Kevin Steele said that “justice has been delayed for too long”, and he is “looking forward to a trial, where the defendant can confront his accuser”. But the judge insisted Constand must appear and testify at the trial, a date for which has yet to be set. In a Pennsylvania courtroom on Thursday, Cosby’s legal team attempted to get his case dismissed or force his accuser to testify in a pretrial hearing.
Last year, prosecutors reopened the case after new accusations and evidence surfaced.
Constand told police the drugs left her semiconscious and unable to move and her lawyers believe Cosby gave her something stronger than Benadryl.
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Lawsuits have been filed against him by his accusers for defamation of character.
