Cosby’s defense reportedly plans to cross-examine these witnesses, but have moved to have other pieces of evidence, like a phone call between Constand’s mother and Cosby that was taped without his knowledge, barred from the courtroom entirely.
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Cosby was in court Tuesday as his team tried moving the sexual assault case out of Montgomery County … arguing Cosby won’t get a fair trial there.
Numerous women have accused Cosby of strikingly similar sexual assaults, claiming that he plied them with alcohol and drugs before taking advantage of their altered mental state. There are other common threads: numerous accounts included in the motion are from women who were significantly younger than Cosby at the time the incidents allegedly occurred.
Judge O’Neill, who said he would set dates to hear arguments on the “prior bad acts” motion before the trial, called the list of the 13 women “the elephant in the room”.
A trial date has not yet been set, though the judge indicated that he wanted one to start before June.
Free on $100,000 cash bail, Cosby could be sentenced to a maximum of 15 to 30 years in prison.
Cosby spokesman Andrew Wyatt has meanwhile issued a statement blaming lawyers for the women for “the trampling of Mr. Cosby’s civil rights”.
His lawyers said in court their client was “not giving up the fight for his rights” and accused a lawyer representing other alleged sexual assault victims of waging a campaign built “on racial bias and prejudice”.
The statement says Cosby has been “no stranger to racial discrimination and hatred” throughout his career.
His accuser, Andrea Constand, has claimed that Bill Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her at his Pennsylvania home while she was an employee of Temple University.
The comedian known as America’s Dad for the top-rated “The Cosby Show” – which captured the amusing travails of fatherhood and painted a warm picture of black family life during its 1984 to 1992 run – now finds himself spending his time and fortune defending tawdry accusations.
This is the first time he’s faced criminal prosecution.
“We love you, Bill”, a supporter yelled at him.
Allred also represents Judy Huth, who filed a civil lawsuit accusing Cosby of underage sexual abuse. However, he claims that the encounter was consensual.
Much of Tuesday’s proceeding focused on a recording of a telephone conversation between Cosby and Constand’s mother.
Constand, now 43 and living in Canada, was not present at the preliminary hearings for the trial and a detective read in court the testimony she gave to police 11 years ago.
According to prosecutors, Bill Cosby is lying.
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The lawyers say he didn’t know Gianna Constand was recording when he called her in Pickering, Ontario, from his home in California. Also, they assert that she didn’t consent to sexual contact.
