Comedian Bill Cosby will face criminal charges in connection with alleged an 2004 sexual assault at his Montgomery County home.
Officials from the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office spoke with reporters Wednesday morning to announce the 78-year-old comedian and TV star will be arraigned later in the day on a single charge of aggravated indecent assault.
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“This is a felony of the first degree and Mr. Cosby’s attorney has been notified of the charge,” Montgomery County First Assistant District Attorney Kevin Steele told reporters. Steele will be sworn in as the county’s top law enforcer in the new year.
The woman who made the sexual assault claim against Cosby was the former director of women’s basketball operations at Temple University. She alleged she was drugged and sexually assaulted by Cosby, a former member of the school’s board of trustees.
Steele said Cosby “urged her to take pills that he provided to her and drink wine.” Once she was intoxicated, he is accused of taking advantage of her sexually.
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The case was previously investigated by former Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor. He declined to press charges and the woman sued Cosby in civil court. An agreement between the two was reached in 2006.
“New information that came to light in July of 2015,” Steele said, adding information from the civil case was also examined.
During the civil case, Cosby said the incident was consensual.
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The case was investigated by the district attorney’s office and Cheltenham Township police.
Cosby, a Philadelphia native, has been accused of similar sexual assaults by dozens of women. Many of the incidents happened too far back for criminal charges to be filed.
Steele said investigators looked at the other woman’s claims during their latest investigation.
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Cosby has had numerous projects scrapped and more than 20 honorary degrees rescinded after dozens of women have come forward with sexual assault allegations.
Cosby is expected to turn himself into authorities.
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Below is the full release from Montgomery County authorities:
Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman and Cheltenham Township Police Chief John J. Norris announce the filing of criminal charges against William H. Cosby stemming from the sexual assault of a victim that occurred on an evening in early 2004 at Cosby’s residence in Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County. Cosby is charged with Aggravated Indecent Assault, which is a Felony of the Second Degree.
The charges filed today are a result of new information that came to light beginning in July 2015. After determining the statute of limitations regarding the potential criminal offense had not yet expired, an investigation was reopened. The statute of limitation for aggravated indecent assault is twelve years from the incident.
“A prosecutor’s job is to follow the evidence wherever it leads and whenever it comes to light,” said First Assistant District Attorney Kevin R. Steele, in announcing the charges. “Upon examination of all of the evidence, today we are able to seek justice on behalf of Mr. Cosby’s victim.”
According to the affidavit, the victim was a guest of Cosby at his home located at 8210 New Second Street in Cheltenham on the night of the incident. In the course of the evening, Cosby provided the victim with wine and three blue pills. At Cosby’s urging, the victim ingested wine and water along with the blue pills. Shortly thereafter, the victim became incapacitated, and Cosby led her to a couch. The victim lay down on the couch, and Cosby positioned himself behind her. Cosby then fondled the victim’s breasts, put his hands inside her pants, and penetrated her vagina with his fingers. During the assault, Cosby also put her hand on his erect penis. The victim did not consent to any of these acts and reported that she was unable to move or speak and felt “frozen” and “paralyzed.”
Within a few months of the incident, the victim moved back to her native Canada where she resided with her mother. In January 2005, the victim disclosed to her mother for the first time what Cosby had done to her. The victim and her mother reported the incident to local Canadian authorities who, in turn, notified authorities in Pennsylvania. On January 22, 2005 the victim gave a statement to the police indicating what had happened to her, including the vaginal penetration by Cosby. The initial investigation into this incident was reviewed by the former District Attorney and resulted in the February 17, 2005, announcement that no criminal charges were forthcoming.
On July 6, 2015, U.S. District Judge Eduardo Robreno, pursuant to a motion from the Associated Press, unsealed certain legal filings that contained references to a deposition by Cosby in a civil case. Judge Robreno released materials in part because Cosby has a diminished privacy interest and this diminished interest is outweighed by the public interest in gaining access to his deposition testimony. The release of these documents in July and the subsequent release of Cosby’s deposition caused the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office to reopen the case. After reviewing the initial investigation, re-interviewing some witnesses, examining other evidence in the civil case and information from other alleged victims, it was determined that the evidence warranted the filing of criminal charges against Cosby.
Cosby is expected to be arraigned later this afternoon before Magisterial District Judge Elizabeth McHugh. Judge McHugh’s Court is located at Station Mews, 7804 Montgomery Avenue in Elkins Park.
Anyone with information regarding similar incidents with Cosby is asked to contact the Montgomery County Detective Bureau at 610-278-3368.
