Bill Cosby charged with sexual assault in Pennsylvania
Bill Cosby has been charged with felony sexual assault over
an incident in 2004 at his Philadelphia-area mansion, a Pennsylvania prosecutor
said on Wednesday, in the first criminal case involving the comedian after
years of mounting accusations.
Charges were brought against the 78-year-old, who allegedly
drugged and sexually assaulted a woman, just before the statute of limitations
in the case ran out in January, reports Reuters.
An arrest warrant was issued for Cosby, Montgomery County
First Assistant District Attorney Kevin R. Steele told a news conference.
A spokesman for Cosby could not be reached immediately for
comment. Cosby has repeatedly denied similar accusations made by dozens of
women.
"Today, after examination of all the evidence, we are
able to seek justice on behalf of the victim," Steele said.
Cosby, who had personified the model American father thanks
to his long-running television show, has been charged with aggravated indecent
assault, which is a felony in the first degree.
According to an affidavit, the victim was a guest of Cosby
at his home in Cheltenham one evening in January 2004 when he gave her wine and
urged her to take three blue pills, prosecutors said in a statement.
"Shortly thereafter, the victim became incapacitated,
and Cosby led her to a couch. The victim lay down ... 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," prosecutors
said.
"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.'"
Steele said new information came to light this year in the
case, and that the victim was willing to cooperate.
More than 50 women have come forward with claims that Cosby
had drugged, and in numerous cases, sexually assaulted them in incidents dating
back decades.
"This is a very significant development," Gloria
Allred, a lawyer who has represented the alleged victim and others in civil
suits against Cosby, said.
The charges have shocked Cosby's fans and crushed his
reputation as an entertainer and father figure.
Many of the alleged incidents occurred decades ago and the
statute of limitations for prosecuting them expired long ago.
In October, Cosby gave a deposition in a California lawsuit
brought by a woman who accused Cosby of sexually abusing her when she was 15.
It was the first time he has testified under oath since dozens of women have
come forward with accusations in the past year.
In testimony in 2005, which became public this year, Cosby
said he bought Quaaludes, a sedative, in order to give them to women with whom
he wanted to have sex.
Earlier this month, Cosby sued seven of his accusers, saying
the women who said they were assaulted were lying and had defamed his
"honorable legacy and reputation."
The actor is best known for playing Dr. Cliff Huxtable, the
family patriarch in the TV sitcom "The Cosby Show", which was one of
the country's highest-rated television shows in the 1980s.
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