Gold Digger Gazette
2017-06-08 01:06:03 UTC
Norristown, Pennsylvania (CNN)The accuser in Bill Cosby's
indecent assault trial conceded Wednesday she gave dates to
police that she later changed after she was allegedly assaulted
in 2004.
Andrea Constand, a former employee at Temple University, has
accused Cosby of drugging and assaulting her during a visit to
his home 13 years ago. Temple is Cosby's alma mater, and he was
a powerful trustee there at the time.
Cosby's defense team has also pointed out that Constand told
police she'd never been alone with the comedian before the
alleged assault and was never in contact with him afterward.
Constand has said neither of those assertions was correct.
"I was really nervous and wasn't able to recall every particular
moment that I had seen Mr. Cosby in order of dates," she said
Tuesday, explaining the inconsistencies.
'They're your friends'
Constand testified Tuesday that Cosby befriended her and took an
interest in her career. At his home one evening in 2004, he
pressed her to take three blue pills, which he said were herbal
and would help her relax, she testified.
"Put them down. They're your friends. They'll take the edge
off," she recalled Cosby, then a powerful Temple trustee,
telling her. "I said, 'I trust you.' I took the pills, and I
swallowed the pills down."
Shortly after, she told him she had become "frozen" and
incapacitated, she testified. Cosby then laid her on the couch
and assaulted her sexually, she alleged.
"I felt really humiliated and I was really confused," Constand
said, wiping tears from her eyes. "I just wanted to go home."
Cosby faces three counts of aggravated indecent assault in the
Montgomery County Courthouse near his suburban Philadelphia
home. The 79-year-old actor and comedian has pleaded not guilty.
Constand's testimony represents the first time she has spoken
out publicly about the 2004 incident. Cosby, who has said he
does not plan to testify, repeatedly lowered and shook his head
as she spoke.
The dramatic scene was more than a dozen years in the making.
Constand initially told police about the incident in 2005, but
the then-district attorney declined to press charges against
Cosby. She sued in civil court, and Cosby settled the case in
2006.
The deposition Cosby provided in that civil suit, in which he
admitted to many of Constand's allegations, is central to the
case against him. Cosby's attorneys have said the pills he gave
Constand were Benadryl and that their sexual activity was
consensual.
Cosby speaks
Defense attorneys have pointed to inconsistencies in Constand's
testimony and questioned why she waited a year to report the
alleged assault to police.
On cross-examination Tuesday, Constand conceded that some things
she initially told police -- her assertion she had not been
alone with Cosby before the alleged assault, for example -- were
incorrect.
"I was mistaken," Constand said. "It was a lot of confusion
putting a lot of dates together."
Many accusers
Cosby has been accused of assault by dozens of women, but the
charges in this trial deal solely with Constand's accusations.
One other accuser, Kelly Johnson, was allowed to testify as
prosecutors sought to establish that Cosby's alleged assault was
part of a pattern.
Johnson, a former assistant at the William Morris talent agency,
testified Monday that in 1996 Cosby pressured her to take a pill
that left her largely incapacitated. Cosby then engaged in
sexual activity with her when she could not resist, she
testified through tears.
Johnson's mother, Patrice Sewell, also testified to receiving a
call from her "hysterical" daughter, who told her that Cosby had
assaulted her and tried to have her fired from William Morris. A
William Morris attorney at the time testified he recalled
Johnson alleging Cosby abused her during a workers' compensation
claim.
The defense has argued Johnson was fired for other reasons,
including violating the company policy on dating clients.
Cosby starred in "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids," "I Spy" and
"The Cosby Show." Through the latter he turned the lives of an
upper-middle-class African-American family into a groundbreaking
TV sitcom.
How Cosby's TV family has supported him
His sweater-wearing portrayal of Dr. Cliff Huxtable made him a
household name and one of the most beloved comedians in the
world. In later years, Cosby became somewhat of a public
moralizer, speaking out against what he saw as the failings of
the African-American community in raising children.
Cosby is facing a jury of seven men and five women. Two jurors
are black. The jurors, who were selected in Allegheny County in
an effort to ensure a fair trial, will be sequestered in the
criminal trial for about two weeks, the lawyers in the case have
predicted.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/07/us/bill-cosby-trial/
indecent assault trial conceded Wednesday she gave dates to
police that she later changed after she was allegedly assaulted
in 2004.
Andrea Constand, a former employee at Temple University, has
accused Cosby of drugging and assaulting her during a visit to
his home 13 years ago. Temple is Cosby's alma mater, and he was
a powerful trustee there at the time.
Cosby's defense team has also pointed out that Constand told
police she'd never been alone with the comedian before the
alleged assault and was never in contact with him afterward.
Constand has said neither of those assertions was correct.
"I was really nervous and wasn't able to recall every particular
moment that I had seen Mr. Cosby in order of dates," she said
Tuesday, explaining the inconsistencies.
'They're your friends'
Constand testified Tuesday that Cosby befriended her and took an
interest in her career. At his home one evening in 2004, he
pressed her to take three blue pills, which he said were herbal
and would help her relax, she testified.
"Put them down. They're your friends. They'll take the edge
off," she recalled Cosby, then a powerful Temple trustee,
telling her. "I said, 'I trust you.' I took the pills, and I
swallowed the pills down."
Shortly after, she told him she had become "frozen" and
incapacitated, she testified. Cosby then laid her on the couch
and assaulted her sexually, she alleged.
"I felt really humiliated and I was really confused," Constand
said, wiping tears from her eyes. "I just wanted to go home."
Cosby faces three counts of aggravated indecent assault in the
Montgomery County Courthouse near his suburban Philadelphia
home. The 79-year-old actor and comedian has pleaded not guilty.
Constand's testimony represents the first time she has spoken
out publicly about the 2004 incident. Cosby, who has said he
does not plan to testify, repeatedly lowered and shook his head
as she spoke.
The dramatic scene was more than a dozen years in the making.
Constand initially told police about the incident in 2005, but
the then-district attorney declined to press charges against
Cosby. She sued in civil court, and Cosby settled the case in
2006.
The deposition Cosby provided in that civil suit, in which he
admitted to many of Constand's allegations, is central to the
case against him. Cosby's attorneys have said the pills he gave
Constand were Benadryl and that their sexual activity was
consensual.
Cosby speaks
Defense attorneys have pointed to inconsistencies in Constand's
testimony and questioned why she waited a year to report the
alleged assault to police.
On cross-examination Tuesday, Constand conceded that some things
she initially told police -- her assertion she had not been
alone with Cosby before the alleged assault, for example -- were
incorrect.
"I was mistaken," Constand said. "It was a lot of confusion
putting a lot of dates together."
Many accusers
Cosby has been accused of assault by dozens of women, but the
charges in this trial deal solely with Constand's accusations.
One other accuser, Kelly Johnson, was allowed to testify as
prosecutors sought to establish that Cosby's alleged assault was
part of a pattern.
Johnson, a former assistant at the William Morris talent agency,
testified Monday that in 1996 Cosby pressured her to take a pill
that left her largely incapacitated. Cosby then engaged in
sexual activity with her when she could not resist, she
testified through tears.
Johnson's mother, Patrice Sewell, also testified to receiving a
call from her "hysterical" daughter, who told her that Cosby had
assaulted her and tried to have her fired from William Morris. A
William Morris attorney at the time testified he recalled
Johnson alleging Cosby abused her during a workers' compensation
claim.
The defense has argued Johnson was fired for other reasons,
including violating the company policy on dating clients.
Cosby starred in "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids," "I Spy" and
"The Cosby Show." Through the latter he turned the lives of an
upper-middle-class African-American family into a groundbreaking
TV sitcom.
How Cosby's TV family has supported him
His sweater-wearing portrayal of Dr. Cliff Huxtable made him a
household name and one of the most beloved comedians in the
world. In later years, Cosby became somewhat of a public
moralizer, speaking out against what he saw as the failings of
the African-American community in raising children.
Cosby is facing a jury of seven men and five women. Two jurors
are black. The jurors, who were selected in Allegheny County in
an effort to ensure a fair trial, will be sequestered in the
criminal trial for about two weeks, the lawyers in the case have
predicted.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/07/us/bill-cosby-trial/