Representatives for Bill Cosby have quietly contacted prominent Philadelphia-area criminal defense lawyers to gauge their willingness to defend him, sources say – a step that signals the comedian’s expectation he could soon face charges in Pennsylvania stemming from a decade-old sexual assault allegation. Jacobs, who represented Cosby in a review of another accuser’s complaint in New Jersey, reportedly said that he referred Cosby’s team to another Philadelphia-area lawyer.
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Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Ferman won’t confirm her office is reinvestigating the complaint by ex-Temple University employee Andrea Constand. However, she said in a recent statement “prosecutors have a responsibility to review past conclusions … when current information might lead to a different decision”. Though he still maintains that none of the women he slept with were drugged without their knowledge, scores of women have claimed that Bill Cosby methodically drugged and sexually assaulted them over the span of the last 40 years, reported Jezebel. The initial settlement prevented the complainant and her lawyers from commenting anything about the case.
Similar time limits have bedeviled other potential cases. However, a lot of women since then have come forth with their stories of sexual assaults by the veteran comedian.
More than a decade ago, Constand was the first woman to go public with her allegations against “The Cosby Show” star.
Bruce L. Castor Jr., who was the Montgomery County District Attorney at the time, declined to prosecute, citing a lack of evidence to support her allegations.
Constand’s lawyer Dolores Troiani said that prosecutors in Pennsylvania can have up to 12 years to bring a felony sexual assault case to a court, meaning they could possibly see a judge as early as January 2016.
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“I think she’s a very strong lady”, Troiani said. Cosby later admitted the contact but said that Constand had consented to the physical encounter. “She’ll do whatever they request of her”. She and Constand can’t comment on the case as part of a confidentiality agreement that settled the case before trial.
