Sues Cosby for sexual assault, defamation
Constand sues Cosby for an unspecified amount of money on allegations of sexual assault and of defamation stemming from statements that Cosby and his agents made about her to news outlets. Constand says she was director of operations for the Temple women’s basketball program when she met Cosby, one of the school’s most famous alumni and a trustee. She alleges she was visiting Cosby’s Main Line mansion in early 2004 when he gave her pills that he said were “herbal medication” to help her cope with stress. After consuming the pills, she said, she felt hazy but remembered Cosby touching her breasts and genitals.
In legal filings, Cosby denies assaulting Constand. He says the two were acquaintances who sometimes dined alone together or with friends.
Claims no resistance from Constand
Cosby claims in his deposition that the intercourse between himself and Constand was not resisted and that he took her lack of resistance as consent for the intercourse.
I don’t hear her say anything. And I don’t feel her say anything, and so I continue and I go into the area that is somewhere between permission and rejection. I am not stopped.
Resolves suit
According to their lawyers, Cosby and Constand “have resolved their differences,” and her civil lawsuit against him has been dismissed. Details are not disclosed.
[The parties] have resolved their differences, and, therefore, the litigation has been dismissed pursuant to local court rule. No further statement will be issued by any of the parties or their representatives.
Amends rape denial to exclude suit
Cosby amends his blanket denial of rape allegations to clarify that Cosby’s denials do not refer to Constand, whose civil suit was settled in 2006. According to the new statement issued by lawyers for Cosby and Constand, differences between the two were ‘resolved to the mutual satisfaction’ of both parties. It adds that neither party intends to comment further.
DA wanted to arrest Cosby
Castor, who was the DA of Montgomery County at the time that Andrea Constand claimed Cosby drugged her and sexually assaulted her at his Pennsylvania home in January 2004, tells The Daily Mail he wanted to arrest Cosby, but did not have enough evidence.
I wanted to arrest Bill Cosby because I thought he was probably guilty, but being able to prove anything beyond a reasonable doubt and thinking he’s probably guilty are two different things. We knew back then that other woman had come forward, but even if they did it didn’t mean anything for our case as none of those cases resulted in charges and were remote in time. The lady who was allegedly attacked waited a year before she reported it. As a result of that delay, any possible corroborating physical evidence was unavailable to us. We couldn’t test for hairs, fibers, DNA and drugs in her system that might match those at Mr Cosby’s house. We didn’t have any corroborative evidence.
Claims he is not public figure to keep records sealed
In Pennsylvania, Cosby defends against the Associated Press’s call to unseal nine-year-old Constand court documents, saying he is not a public figure, there’s no public interest in the case, and that confidentiality should be maintained on materials described as posing a “real, specific threat of serious embarrassment.” After the settlement, AP challenged the sealing of certain motions brought in the case, but they were denied. Now AP is asking for the motions to be disclosed base on a local rule of civil procedure that presumes an unsealing of records after two years unless a judge disagrees. Cosby’s lawyer:
Moreover, unlike a deposition in a typical case, there is a voracious media appetite for Defendant’s deposition, and public release of it would quickly become widespread public knowledge of it. There is no doubt that public disclosure of the motions and Defendant’s sworn deposition testimony, which delves into the most intimate subjects imaginable, would generate a firestorm of publicity.
[Cosby] is not a public official, nor is the relevant information important to public health or safety… Defendant’s status as a well-known comedian and entertainer does not render him a ‘public’ person within the meaning of the law.
AP’s brief:
The defendant is the only party who objects to unsealing the record. However, now that the circumstances that he relied upon to gain preliminary sealing in this matter are nothing more than historic references, bypassed by recent public events, the files at issue should be unsealed.
Adding that Constand has waived her right to anonymity, the various Jane DFoes’ mentioned in her suit have come forward, and that
[Cosby is] unquestionably a public figure [and his conduct] a legitimate matter for public scrutiny.
Got drugs to give women for sex
In the unsealed testimony obtained by AP, Cosby admits obtaining drugs for the purposes of having sex with women. Cosby, giving sworn testimony in the lawsuit accusing him of sexual assaulting Constand at his home in Pennsylvania in 2005, said he got seven quaalude prescriptions in the 1970s. Constand’s lawyer asked if he had kept the sedatives through the 1990s — after they were banned — but was frustrated by objections from Cosby’s lawyer.
Lawyer: When you got the quaaludes, was it in your mind that you were going to use these quaaludes for young women that you wanted to have sex with?
Cosby: Yes
When asked if he ever gave any women the quaaludes without their knowledge Cosby’s lawyer again objected, leading Constand’s lawyer to petition the federal judge to force Cosby to cooperate. Cosby later said he gave Constand three half-pills of Benadryl, although Constand’s lawyer doubts that was the drug involved. The two other women who testified on Constand’s behalf said they had knowingly been given quaaludes.
More details revealed
Further details of Cosby’s four-day questioning for the Constand case deposition reveal Cosby describing how he seduced a young model by showing interest in her father’s cancer and promising women mentorship and career advice before pushing them for sex. He also acknowledges he paid off women to keep his wife, Camille, from finding out about his philandering. At one point, he is rebuked by the plaintiff’s attorney for his jocular attitude.
Lawyer: I think you’re making light of a very serious situation.
Cosby: That may very well be.
Victim’s attorney, Allred:
Cosby’s testimony demonstrates how deceptive, manipulative and disgusting (he is). It is no wonder that he fought to keep this deposition, which reveals his revolting predatory conduct, hidden from public view. But the truth is out now and it will never be hidden again.
Seeks sanctions against Constand
Cosby files legal documents seeking court sanctions against Andrea Constand for her alleged breach of their confidentiality agreement. The filing says Constand’s request to open the entire Cosby settlement is an “obvious attempt to smear” the performer and says she should be sanctioned for leaking the nearly 1,000-page deposition transcript to the New York Times. Cosby’s filing also says that the deposition excerpts so far unsealed by the judge contain no testimony that he engaged in any non-consensual sex or gave anyone Quaaludes without their knowledge or consent.
Reading the media accounts, one would conclude that Defendant has admitted to rape. And yet Defendant admitted to nothing more than being one of the many people who introduced Quaaludes into their consensual sex life in the 1970s.
Obtained Quaaludes from gynecologist
In the Constand depositions, Cosby admits his Quaalude prescriptions were written by Los Angeles gynecologist and cosmetic surgeon, Leroy Amar.
Attorney: Did he know when he gave you those prescriptions that you had no intention of taking them?
Cosby: Yes. (It is not clear from the deposition how the doctor would have known that)
Attorney: Did you believe at the time that it was illegal for you to dispense those drugs?
Cosby: Yes.
While Cosby admits that he acquired seven prescriptions of Quaaludes with the intent to give the sedatives to young women he wanted to have sex with, he does not admit to actually drugging any women.
Three sex-assault charges, bail set at $1m
Cosby is charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault on Constand in 2oo4, including that Cosby assaulted his victim while she was unconscious and without consent. DA Steele:
Upon examination of all of the evidence, today we are able to seek justice on behalf of Mr. Cosby’s victim.
From the complaint:
[Cosby rendered Constand] frozen, paralyzed, unable to move” by plying her with pills and wine, then penetrating her with his fingers when she was unconscious or unaware of what was happening.
Bail is set at $1 million. Cosby immediately posted $100,000. As a condition of his bail to surrender his passport. He is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing Jan. 14 at 9:30 a.m. That hearing will likely be held at Montgomery County Court in Norristown, according to the court documents. Cosby’s lawyer:
Make no mistake, we intend to mount a vigorous defense against this unjustified charge and we expect that Mr. Cosby will be exonerated by a court of law.
Must testify
A federal magistrate judge in Massachusetts rejects arguments by Camille Cosby that her deposition in the Constand case deposition would represent an “undue burden” and that she lacked any first-hand knowledge of the events at issue. Bill Cosby’s lawyer’s will appeal the ruling. The deposition is scheduled for next Wednesday.
Wants charges dropped based on 2005 deposition immunity
Lawyers for Cosby attempt to have aggravated indecent assault charges against the actor thrown out on the grounds that his 2005 videotaped deposition, in which he admits to drugging Constand, was made under the promise from prosecutors that he would be granted immunity from prosecution. Prosecutors in the current criminal case contend that there is no evidence of a signed immunity agreement, and that the case against Cosby should continue.
Loses appeal
Cosby’s appeal is dismissed by Montgomery County Judge O’Neill. After O’Neill said in previous hearing evidence was lacking that Cosby had a promise from a previous district attorney he would never be charged over the encounter with Constand, his lawyers had asked for an appeal to Superior Court. O’Neill:
An immediate appeal from these orders would not materially advance the ultimate termination of the matter.
There is no comment from Cosby’s lawyers.