NORRISTOWN - Bill Cosby's lawyer
opened the defense's case in his sexual assault trial by
portraying his accuser as a "con artist" bent on extorting money
from the famed comedian, saying she concocted a false story to
pay for her education and set up a business.
"She was madly in love with his fame and money. She's now a
multimillionaire because she pulled it off," defense attorney
Thomas Mesereau said of Andrea Constand, 44, who won a $3.4
million settlement from Cosby in a civil lawsuit in 2006.
The 80-year-old entertainer, once known as the wise and
witty father in the 1980s television hit "The Cosby Show," is
facing his second criminal trial in Norristown, Pennsylvania, on
charges of drugging and sexually assaulting Constand in 2004.
His first trial ended in June with the jury unable to reach
a verdict. Unlike then, the new jury was told Cosby agreed to
the settlement. The prosecution revealed the information on
Monday during its opening statement.
In between trials, U.S. popular culture was shaken by the
#MeToo movement, which encouraged an increasing number of women
to step forward with stories of sexual harassment or assault at
the hands of the rich and powerful.
Before the advent of #MeToo, some 50 women accused Cosby of
assault, many alleging, as Constand did, that he drugged them
beforehand. All the accusations except Constand's were too old
to be the subject of criminal prosecution.
Cosby has denied wrongdoing, saying any sexual contact was
consensual. If convicted of aggravated indecent assault, he
could face 10 years in prison.
Even after the alleged assault in January 2004, Constand
called Cosby as many as 60 times and visited his home alone,
said Mesereau, who successfully defended Michael Jackson against
child molestation charges.
After the defense laid out its case, the prosecution called
its first witness to explain why a sexual assault victim might
behave that way.
Forensic psychiatrist Barbara Ziv said public understanding
of rape is rife with myths, such as erroneous beliefs that
victims are to blame, that they fight back, or that they report
the assault quickly to police.
Ziv said victims are especially conflicted when their
assailant is someone they knew and trusted.
"I would challenge you to find one victim of sexual assault
who is not humiliated by the fact they were sexually assaulted,
who does not blame themselves in some way, and who is not deeply
ashamed of it," she said.