Bill Cosby charged in 2004 Pa. sexual assault

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[h=4]Bill Cosby charged in 2004 Pa. sexual assault[/h]Arrest warrant issued for comedian in 2004 Philadelphia case.

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More than 50 women have accused Bill Cosby of sexual assault, but this is the first time he is facing criminal charges. VPC


Bill Cosby has officially been charged with sexual assault for the first time after being accused by more than 50 women.(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)


Prosecutors in a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Philadelphia suburb<span style="color: Red;">*</span>charged<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Bill Cosby with sexual assault Wednesday.
It marks the first time charges have been officially brought against the beleaguered comedian, who has been accused by upwards of 60 women.
The official charge is second-degree aggravated<span style="color: Red;">*</span>indecent assault. Montgomery<span style="color: Red;">*</span>County Assistant District Attorney Kevin R. Steele<span style="color: Red;">*</span>defined the act as "penetration" without the consent of his victim, former<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Temple University employee Andrea Constand. (During his<span style="color: Red;">*</span>press conference, Steele mistakenly said it was a first-degree charge.)
If convicted, Cosby could get five to 10 years in prison, and up to a $25,000 fine.
"Pills were provided. Wine was provided. The victim was frozen, paralyzed. A person in that condition is not able to give consent," Steele said.
"The evidence is strong and sufficient enough to proceed with the charges," Steele added. The decision by his boss, newly elected District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman, reverses a decision by her predecessor who had ruled that there was not enough evidence to warrant an arrest.
Constand expressed gratitude via her legal team for the "consideration,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>courtesy and professionalism"<span style="color: Red;">*</span>of Steele's team. Then she said she would not comment further.
Cosby, 78, is expected to be arraigned in front of a magistrate in Elkins Park, Pa.,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>at approximately 4 p.m. ET.
Calls to his spokesman, Andrew Wyatt, and his legal-team spokeswoman, Monique Pressley, were not immediately returned.
The case dates from 2004, and under Pennsylvania law, prosecutors have a 12-year deadline to bring charges in a sexual assault case. The statute of limitations is due to expire at the end of January.
Constand accused Cosby in 2005, alleging he drugged and sexually assaulted her when she visited his then home in Montgomery County outside Philadelphia in 2004. But the then-county prosecutor declined to charge him, saying there was not enough evidence by the time she went to police.
So Constand sued him in civil court instead. That suit was settled a year later and the results were sealed, including a three-day deposition of Cosby. But this year, after dozens of women had come forward accusing Cosby of drugging and raping them in episodes dating back to the mid-1960s,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a judge released part of the deposition, and more leaked later.
In the deposition, Cosby admitted under questioning that he obtained drugs, including Quaaludes, to give to women he sought for sex.
Lawyers for some of Cosby's accusers and advocates for victims of sexual assault praised the criminal case as a positive first step.
"Whether the accused is a high profile celebrity or a star athlete, we can no longer allow sexual assault to be swept under the rug," said<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Nita Chaudhary, co-founder of the women's<span style="color: Red;">*</span>rights organization, UltraViolet, in a statement.
George Kontos, who represents a Cosby accuser in Pittsburgh who is suing him in civil court, said he had heard charges against Cosby were "forthcoming"<span style="color: Red;">*</span>for some time.
"We will be following the events with great interest, as information and investigation concerning witnesses in the criminal matter could have impact in our civil case," Kontos<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said in a statement.
Attorney Joe Cammarata, who represents seven accusers who are suing Cosby in civil court, also issued a statement.
"The charges clearly send a message that there is a belief of sufficient evidence to get a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>an even higher standard than in civil court.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>This clearly undermines Mr. Cosby’s claim that his encounter with Ms. Constand was consensual,” Cammarata said.
Cosby has denied all wrongdoing and up until Wednesday has never been charged with a crime. He claimed at the time that anything that happened with Constand was consensual.
Most of the accusations against him are too old to pursue in states with short statutes of limitation. <span style="color: Red;">*</span>But police in Los Angeles have been investigating more recent<span style="color: Red;">*</span>allegations by another accuser, Chloe Goins, who says Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her at the Playboy Mansion in 2008, when she was 18.
So far, no charges have been filed in that case but Goins has since filed a civil suit against Cosby, one of seven pending civil suits against him filed by some of his accusers.
"On behalf of our client we are happy to see that Mr. Cosby will hopefully be brought to justice and the criminal court system," said her lawyer, Spencer Kuvin, in a statement. "Chloe has always wanted to see Mr. Cosby face jail time for his actions."

View the official charging document<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Warning: File may be slow to load due to interest in case)

The charging documents for Bill Cosby, who is expected to be arraigned late Wednesday afternoon.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Montgomery County, Pa., District Attorney's Office)

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