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Bill Cosby charged with indecent assault Bill Cosby charged with indecent assault
(about 1 hour later)
Prosecutors in Pennsylvania have filed the first sexual assault charges against US comedian Bill Cosby. Prosecutors in the US have charged comedian Bill Cosby with aggravated indecent assault over an alleged incident in 2004.
Mr Cosby, 78, has been charged with aggravated indecent assault over an alleged incident in 2004 involving a former local university employee. It is the first time Mr Cosby, 78, has been charged with any offence after months of accusations.
He has previously said under oath he had a consensual sexual encounter with the woman. Andrea Constand says she was drugged then assaulted at the Philadelphia home of the former US television star.
The case was re-opened after dozens of women alleged assault by Mr Cosby, dating back to the 1970s. Dozens of women have accused him of sexual assault, dating back to the 1970s, but he has denied wrongdoing.
Andrea Constand, who was an employee at Temple University at the time of the alleged assault, sued Mr Cosby in 2005 and settled for an undisclosed sum after no charges were brought. Earlier this month he opened a lawsuit against seven of the women, accusing them of defamation.
She has said she was tricked into taking drugs before being sexually assaulted by Mr Cosby.
Mr Cosby has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in relation to the allegations.
Prosecution allegationsProsecution allegations
Documents from the case were sealed until this summer. It is the second time there has been an investigation into Ms Constand's complaint against the actor, who won acclaim for playing a family doctor and model father in The Cosby Show.
Testimony from the lawsuits include Mr Cosby admitting he gave women a sedative, Quaaludes, when he wanted to have sex with them. In 2005, after no charges were brought when she first made the accusation, she sued him and settled for an undisclosed sum.
Mr Cosby befriended Ms Constand through her job at the university and she came to think of him as "a mentor and a friend" before he allegedly made two sexual advances that were rejected, said prosecutors. He has previously said under oath he had a consensual sexual encounter with her.
Kevin Steele, district attorney for Montgomery County, said they re-visited the case after new evidence emerged, with the statue of limitations not expired yet. Mr Cosby befriended Ms Constand through her job at Temple University and she came to think of him as "a mentor and a friend" before he allegedly made two sexual advances that were rejected, said prosecutors.
The prosecutors re-interviewed witnesses, examined evidence from the civil case and spoke to other alleged victims before they decided to file criminal charges, Mr Steele's office says in a statement. Documents from her lawsuit against the star were sealed until this summer, when damaging testimony was revealed as more women came forward.
The 12-year statute of limitations was only days away from expiring, in January 2016.
Kevin Steele, district attorney for Montgomery County, said they reopened the Constand case after "new information came to light".
The prosecutors re-interviewed witnesses, examined evidence from the civil case and spoke to other alleged victims before they decided to file criminal charges, Mr Steele's office said in a statement.
In testimony seen by the New York Times and published in July, Mr Cosby admitted he did sometimes give women a sedative, Quaaludes, when he wanted to have sex with them, but not without their knowledge.
At the height of his fame from The Cosby Show, the comedian was the highest paid entertainer on US television.At the height of his fame from The Cosby Show, the comedian was the highest paid entertainer on US television.