Norristown, Pennsylvania - A Pennsylvania jury on
Tuesday began its first full day of deliberations in the trial
of entertainer Bill Cosby, who is accused of sexually assaulting
a female friend who had come to him for career advice in 2004.
Cosby, best known for his role as the dad in the 1980s hit
family TV comedy "The Cosby Show," in 2015 was charged with
sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in his home in the
Philadelphia suburbs, just days before the statute of
limitations was to run out.
Constand is one of dozens of women to have accused Cosby of
sex abuse, often after plying them with drugs, in a series of
incidents dating to the 1960s. The allegation by Constand, a
former administrator at Cosby's alma mater, Temple University,
is the only one not too old to be the subject of criminal
prosecution.
Constand, now 44, was the prosecution's star witness in the
week-long trial in the Philadelphia suburb of Norristown,
testifying that Cosby gave her pills that left her unable to
respond when he sexually assaulted her. Another witness, Kelly
Johnson, testified that she was the victim of a similar attack
by the comedian in 1996.
Cosby, 79, whose long career was based on a family-friendly
comedy style, did not testify. He has repeatedly denied
wrongdoing and described his encounters with Constand as
consensual.
In his closing argument on Monday, Montgomery County
District Attorney Kevin Steele said Cosby's words incriminated
him, noting that the defendant acknowledged apologizing to
Constand and her mother and offering to pay for Constand's
schooling after her mother confronted him.
He also focused on Cosby's admission that he told Constand
the pills were her "friends" that would help her "relax" but did
not inform her what they were.
Since beginning deliberations, jurors have asked to hear
some of Cosby's prior statements, including his description of
the pills he gave Constand prior to the alleged attack.
Defense attorney Brian McMonagle in his closing statement
said Cosby was guilty of adultery, which is not a crime, but not
sexual assault. Among those listening was Camille Cosby, 73, his
wife of 50 years and business manager. She came to the courtroom
for the first time on Monday.
The defense has focused on inconsistencies in Constand's
statements about the timing of the alleged assault, pointing out
that she remained in contact with Cosby for weeks after the
night in question.
Cosby's attorneys sought to portray her as a woman whose
allegations were motivated by money. She settled a 2005 civil
lawsuit against Cosby for an undisclosed sum, though jurors did
not hear about that case.
Cosby still faces multiple civil lawsuits by other accusers.
The jurors are from the Pittsburgh area and were brought to
the Norristown courthouse at the order of Montgomery County
Court of Common Pleas Judge Steven O'Neill. Defense lawyers had
argued that local residents could be biased by the intense media
coverage.
They began deliberations on Monday and have been sequestered
at a hotel for the trial's duration, a relatively rare
occurrence in the U.S. criminal justice system.