Former Temple Trustee Blll Cosby has been charged in a sex assault case from 2004. The charges were announced Wednesday morning by the Montgomery County District Attorney’s office. Cosby faces a charge of aggravated indecent assault which is a felony and could potentially land him in a jail cell for ten years.
Cosby was arraigned on Wednesday afternoon, where he was arrested but set a one million dollar bail pending his trial on February 2. The hearing had been set for January 14, but was postponed to give the defense more time to prepare.
Cosby’s defense lawyer Monique Pressley believes the charge was ‘no surprise.’ In a press release, Pressley says it comes ‘on the heels of a hotly contested election for this county’s DA.’
They promise a vigorous defense and expect the comedian will be exonerated on the charge. Cosby agreed to have no contact with his accuser before the next hearing.
The case was brought forward by a former Temple University employee. She says the comedian drugged and sexually assaulted her in his Cheltenham home.
Aggravated indecent assault refers to a person penetrating the genitals of another person without their consent.
The 78-year-old comedian has said under oath that he had consensual sexual contact with the woman.
This is not the first time this case has been tried. A prosecutor declined charging Cosby in this same case in 2005, but the case was revisited after several other women came forward with stories similar stories to that of the former employee. You can see and read coverage of some of the accusations against Bill Cosby over a year ago here.
In Pennsylvania, a person has 1-2 years to report sexual assault before the statute of limitations runs out. The statute of limitations was about to run out in this case in January.
While dozens of women have come forward against the comedian, the statute of limitations has run out on almost all of those cases.
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