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Bill Cosby was arrested today for sexual assault. Photo courtesy of NPR.
Summary: Bill Cosby has been charged with a felony sex crime in Pennsylvania.
After decades of rumors and dozens of accusations, comedian Bill Cosby has finally been charged with felony rape.
Prosecutions just barely missed a statute of limitations deadline to charge the former Jello spokesman. They filed their charge on behalf of a Temple University employee who said Cosby drugged and raped her in 2004.
Pennsylvania, where the charges were filed, has a 12-year statute of limitations on felony sex crimes. The district attorney’s office had until January to file against the 78-year-old comedian.
Andrea Constand, the Temple University employee, publicly accused Cosby of sexual assault in 2004, but the prosecutor at the time decided not to press charges. That prosecutor lost his re-election bid to the current prosecutor, Kevin Steele, who made pursuing charges against Cosby a major issue of his campaign.
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Constand said in the criminal complaint that she considered Cosby to be her mentor. She said he established a friendship with her before making sexual advances. He also urged her to take pills and drink wine.
A 2005 investigation into Cosby led him to reveal in a deposition that he purchased Quaaludes with the intent to give to women. He admitted in the deposition that he had given Quaaludes to at least one woman. The deposition was sealed until this past summer. After its release, the public outcry prompted action against Cosby.
Steele noted that his decision to file was brought on by “new information” released in July.
The Montgomery County, Pennsylvania prosecutors charged him with three felony charges of aggravated indecent assault.
“These charges stem from a sexual assault,” said prosecutor Steele. He urged other victims to contact his office.
Attorneys for Constand issued a statement thanking the district attorney and the police for their action.
On Wednesday, Cosby was arraigned. His bail was set for $1 million. NPR reports that he must turn over his passport and he may have no contact with his accuser, who ABC News reports that he had settled with in 2004.
The preliminary hearing has been scheduled for January.
“The charge by the Montgomery County District Attorney’s office came as no surprise, filed 12 years after the alleged incident and coming on the heels of a hotly contested election for this county’s DA during which this case was made the focal point,” Cosby’s attorney, Monique Pressley told ABC News.
Earlier this month, Cosby countersued his accusers for defamation. He continues to maintain his innocence, and he says all of the rape allegations have hurt his entertainment deals with Netflix and NBC.
Bill Cosby’s mugshot. Photo courtesy of ABC.
Source:Â http://abc7news.com/news/bill-cosby-arraigned-for-alleged-aggravated-indecent-assault/1141095/
