Bruce Castor, the Montgomery County district attorney at the time of the alleged incident, did not file sexual assault charges against Cosby, citing “insufficient credible and admissible evidence”.
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The decision followed a 3-1/2 hour preliminary hearing in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, where prosecutors introduced statements that Cosby and the woman, Andrea Constand, separately gave to police in 2005.
Cosby waived his right to be formally arraigned and enter a plea, so the case is now in the hands of lawyers.
That evening, Constand was allowed to review her statement. A Montgomery County detective read portions of the statement outlining the allegations. It could be a year or more before Cosby goes to trial. He also faces civil lawsuits in various other states in the USA over other historical allegations. Many of Cosby’s accusers have exceeded the statute of limitations for bringing sexual assault charges against someone, however.
“We’re going to move forward on the case and consequently look forward to getting a trial date”, he added.
Cosby’s lawyers argued unsuccessfully that reading Constand’s statement instead of putting her on the stand would be hearsay and would deprive him of his right to confront his accuser.
Cosby insists their sexual encounter at his home was consensual and that she never told him to stop.
According to Norris, Cosby admitted to giving Constand Benadryl after she complained about having trouble sleeping.
Law enforcement officers testifying instead of accusers is a common practice at preliminary hearings in Pennsylvania.
Cosby told police in 2005 that he had other “petting” sessions with Andrea Constand and at least once stopped kissing her breast when she asked him to.
She told detectives that Cosby gave her three pills that made her dizzy, blurry-eyed and nauseated and left her legs feeling “like jelly”.
Of the almost 60 decades-old accusations of drugging and/or rape made against Cosby since 2014, only Constand’s accusations have resulted in criminal charges.
Brian McMonagle, Cosby’s lawyer, said after the hearing that prosecutors relied on an 11-year-old “hearsay” statement rather than present a live witness because their case was weak.
Cosby has been free on $1 million bail since he was arrested December 30.
Detective Katherine Hart testified Constand told detectives in 2005 that she returned to Cosby’s home because she wanted to confront him about what had happened. The defense also drilled down on corrections Constand made to a transcript police made of her interview, including deleting the words “nothing sexual” in her account of an evening she spent with Cosby at a casino.
A stand-up comedian, Cosby landed a breakthrough role on the 1960s TV show “I Spy”, becoming a rare black actor with a leading part on a network television series.
However, Constand’s case was reopened after dozens of other women came forward with similar stories in the last two years, including supermodels Janice Dickinson and Beverly Johnson.
Cosby has denied the allegations.
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“Though the court decided the government reached the low threshold required for today’s preliminary hearing, we have no doubt this case ultimately will be resolved in Mr Cosby’s favor”, McMonagle said later on Tuesday.
