Montgomery County DA Charges Cosby With Felony Sexual Assault

Entertainer and Navy veteran Bill Cosby speaks during a Veterans Day ceremony, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2014, at the The All Wars Memorial to Colored Soldiers and Sailors in Philadelphia. Cosby told the crowd during a 20-mi... Entertainer and Navy veteran Bill Cosby speaks during a Veterans Day ceremony, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2014, at the The All Wars Memorial to Colored Soldiers and Sailors in Philadelphia. Cosby told the crowd during a 20-minute address that “we don’t forget about ours,” as he spoke about the importance of the memorial along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.(AP Photo/Matt Rourke) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

This post was updated at 10:42 a.m. ET

The Montgomery, Pennsylvania District Attorney’s office on Wednesday charged Bill Cosby with aggravated indecent assault—a felony—for sexually abusing a woman at his home in Cheltenham Township. These are the first criminal charges brought against the comedian.

In a press conference, First Assistant District Attorney Kevin Steele said that Cosby urged the victim, former Temple University employee Andrea Constand, to take pills and drink wine, rendering her “unable to move or to respond.” He then “committed aggravated indecent assault upon her,” digitally penetrating her while she was unconscious.

“A person in that state cannot give consent,” Steele said.

District Attorney Risa Vetri Furman reopened the case, which was closed by her predecessor, after new testimony and allegations from other women who have accused Cosby of sexual assault were unsealed.

“Reopening this case was not a question,” Steele said in the press conference. “Rather, it was our duty.”

Cosby will be arraigned in court at around 4 p.m. Wednesday.

According to Steele, the case will focus only on Constand’s case. Steele said she has agreed to cooperate with the case going forward.

Forty-six women have accused the comedian of sexual assault. Earlier this month, Cosby, who maintains that the incidents were all consensual, sued seven of them for defaming his character.

As the Associated Press reported, many of the alleged assaults date back decades, exceeding the statue of limitations for bringing charges. But the law in Pennsylvania allows prosecutors up to 12 years to bring charges for certain sex crimes.

Correction: The original version of this post misidentified the jurisdiction as Montgomery, Alabama. The case is actually in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. We regret the error.

The full affidavit is posted below.

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. Thankfully the internets is a series of tubes and not a big truck.

  2. While the correction (Alabama? Really?) has it right, the case was filed in Montgomery County, Pa, not Montgomery, which is still in the first graph. Also worth noting that the assistant DA was elected to be DA running on bringing charges against Cosby, and the case was weeks from being unfileable due to statute.

    Expanding a little more, Cosby was long on Temple’s board and is an alumnus (as am I) making these allegations, if it’s possible, being even more wrong since many boundaries were crossed.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for jdkahler Avatar for trippin Avatar for theghostofeustacetilley

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: