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| Bill Cosby Jurors Hear Andrea Constand Say ‘I Trusted Him’ | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| • On Day 2 of the criminal trial of Bill Cosby, the complainant, Andrea Constand, a former Temple University employee, took the stand to testify tearfully about the night in 2004 when she says he drugged and sexually assaulted her at his home outside Philadelphia. | • On Day 2 of the criminal trial of Bill Cosby, the complainant, Andrea Constand, a former Temple University employee, took the stand to testify tearfully about the night in 2004 when she says he drugged and sexually assaulted her at his home outside Philadelphia. |
| • Ms. Constand told prosecutors in Norristown, Pa., that she trusted Mr. Cosby and kept in contact with him even after the incident because he was a powerful trustee at the university where she worked. | • Ms. Constand told prosecutors in Norristown, Pa., that she trusted Mr. Cosby and kept in contact with him even after the incident because he was a powerful trustee at the university where she worked. |
| • Mr. Cosby has said the sex was consensual and the defense made it apparent Monday that it would aggressively challenge her credibility. | • Mr. Cosby has said the sex was consensual and the defense made it apparent Monday that it would aggressively challenge her credibility. |
| • Earlier Tuesday, the prosecution called two witnesses to testify in support of Kelly Johnson, a woman who on Monday said that Mr. Cosby had also drugged and sexually assaulted her in 1996. | • Earlier Tuesday, the prosecution called two witnesses to testify in support of Kelly Johnson, a woman who on Monday said that Mr. Cosby had also drugged and sexually assaulted her in 1996. |
| • One witness was Ms. Johnson’s mother and the other was a lawyer who once represented her, and both said Ms. Johnson had described an attack to them. | • One witness was Ms. Johnson’s mother and the other was a lawyer who once represented her, and both said Ms. Johnson had described an attack to them. |
| She spoke of the beginnings of their friendship. She described what she said was a sexual assault at his home. And then she spoke of why she had kept in subsequent contact with him: he was a powerful trustee of the university where she worked. | |
| It was the first time for more than a decade that she and Mr. Cosby had faced each other, the last time being a civil suit in Philadelphia that she filed in 2005 when prosecutors first declined to press charges. It ended in a financial settlement. | It was the first time for more than a decade that she and Mr. Cosby had faced each other, the last time being a civil suit in Philadelphia that she filed in 2005 when prosecutors first declined to press charges. It ended in a financial settlement. |
| Mr. Constand was resolute in her demeanor on the stand, describing two advances she said Mr. Cosby made prior to the night in question: once he touched her thigh, another time he tried to unbutton her pants. But she described him as an older man, one who she viewed as a mentor and whom she had no reason to think would push it further. | |
| “He was a Temple friend, somebody I trusted as a mentor, and someone of an older figure to me,” she said. “I trusted him.” | |
| Then, crying, she recounted the night when she says Mr. Cosby drugged her, coming forward with three blue pills. “He said these will help you relax,” she testified. “He said put them down. They are your friends. They will take the edge off.” | Then, crying, she recounted the night when she says Mr. Cosby drugged her, coming forward with three blue pills. “He said these will help you relax,” she testified. “He said put them down. They are your friends. They will take the edge off.” |
| He offered her wine, her vision began to blur and she couldn’t walk, she said. | He offered her wine, her vision began to blur and she couldn’t walk, she said. |
| “I said, ‘I see two of you,’ ” she said. | “I said, ‘I see two of you,’ ” she said. |
| After he helped her to a couch, she lost consciousness and awoke in a jolt, she said. “I felt Mr. Cosby’s hand,” she said “groping my breasts under my shirt. I also felt his hand inside my vagina moving in and out and I felt him take my hand and place it in his penis and move it back and forth.” | |
| Mr. Cosby sat forward as she testified, smiling, but then frowned at times when she spoke and held his hand against his head. On Monday, the defense had described Mr. Constand’s depiction of the evening as a fabrication and pointed to evidence that it said established she sought to continue the relationship — 53 phone calls the defense said she had placed to him after the night in question. | |
| She said she continued to keep in contact with him in the following months when he called the office. | She said she continued to keep in contact with him in the following months when he called the office. |
| “I didn’t not want to call Mr. Cosby back because I thought it would look negative on me,” she said. “I didn’t want to stir up any trouble.” | “I didn’t not want to call Mr. Cosby back because I thought it would look negative on me,” she said. “I didn’t want to stir up any trouble.” |
| Later she would go with her family to see Mr. Cosby perform near their home outside Toronto. Her mother took Mr. Cosby a T-shirt to say thank you for the tickets. She said her father really wanted to go and she didn’t want to disappoint them. | Later she would go with her family to see Mr. Cosby perform near their home outside Toronto. Her mother took Mr. Cosby a T-shirt to say thank you for the tickets. She said her father really wanted to go and she didn’t want to disappoint them. |
| “It was a very big burden on me,” she said, “but one I did not have the courage at the time to tell my family and so I just went along with them.” | “It was a very big burden on me,” she said, “but one I did not have the courage at the time to tell my family and so I just went along with them.” |
| Prosecutors had to decide whether to introduce Ms. Constand first or rather wait to present other key evidence — the deposition testimony by Mr. Cosby in 2005 when he admitted to obtaining quaaludes to have sex with women. Mr. Cosby has said he would not testify but has said any drug-taking, like the sex, was consensual. | Prosecutors had to decide whether to introduce Ms. Constand first or rather wait to present other key evidence — the deposition testimony by Mr. Cosby in 2005 when he admitted to obtaining quaaludes to have sex with women. Mr. Cosby has said he would not testify but has said any drug-taking, like the sex, was consensual. |
| She said Mr. Cosby, a client of her boss, an agent at the William Morris Agency in Los Angeles, had given her a large white pill and then sexually assaulted her. Her complaint did not surface until 2015 because, Ms. Johnson testified, she was afraid to come forward. | She said Mr. Cosby, a client of her boss, an agent at the William Morris Agency in Los Angeles, had given her a large white pill and then sexually assaulted her. Her complaint did not surface until 2015 because, Ms. Johnson testified, she was afraid to come forward. |
| But Brian J. McMonagle, Mr. Cosby’s lawyer, told the jury on Monday that when Ms. Johnson complained to human resources at the agency and later, when she filed a workers’ compensation claim, she never made any accusation that Mr. Cosby had assaulted her. “At no time was she forced to have sex and when she said no, he said O.K.,” Mr. McMonagle said. | But Brian J. McMonagle, Mr. Cosby’s lawyer, told the jury on Monday that when Ms. Johnson complained to human resources at the agency and later, when she filed a workers’ compensation claim, she never made any accusation that Mr. Cosby had assaulted her. “At no time was she forced to have sex and when she said no, he said O.K.,” Mr. McMonagle said. |
| But Judge Steven T. O’Neill agreed to allow the testimony of Ms. Johnson’s mother, Pattrice Sewell, and Joseph Miller, a lawyer from the time Ms. Johnson worked for William Morris. | But Judge Steven T. O’Neill agreed to allow the testimony of Ms. Johnson’s mother, Pattrice Sewell, and Joseph Miller, a lawyer from the time Ms. Johnson worked for William Morris. |
| Ms. Sewell said that Mr. Cosby and her daughter had been friends, and that just as Mr. Cosby had invited Ms. Constand’s family to a show, he had invited Ms. Johnson and her family to a show in Las Vegas. | Ms. Sewell said that Mr. Cosby and her daughter had been friends, and that just as Mr. Cosby had invited Ms. Constand’s family to a show, he had invited Ms. Johnson and her family to a show in Las Vegas. |
| “She was very proud to introduce her family to Mr. Cosby,” Ms. Sewell said from the stand. “We admired him.” | “She was very proud to introduce her family to Mr. Cosby,” Ms. Sewell said from the stand. “We admired him.” |
| But then Ms. Sewell described what she said her daughter later told her about a 1996 incident at a hotel in California where, Ms. Johnson says, Mr. Cosby drugged and assaulted her. | But then Ms. Sewell described what she said her daughter later told her about a 1996 incident at a hotel in California where, Ms. Johnson says, Mr. Cosby drugged and assaulted her. |
| She said her daughter told her: “He said she should take this pill. It would calm her down.” | She said her daughter told her: “He said she should take this pill. It would calm her down.” |
| Ms. Johnson testified on Monday that the pill made her feel as if she were underwater, and that she later awoke and Mr. Cosby made her touch his penis. | Ms. Johnson testified on Monday that the pill made her feel as if she were underwater, and that she later awoke and Mr. Cosby made her touch his penis. |
| Ms. Sewell said her daughter became depressed, turned inward and later left the agency. | Ms. Sewell said her daughter became depressed, turned inward and later left the agency. |
| The defense said Ms. Johnson left the agency, not because of Mr. Cosby, but because she was confronted by the agency for having a relationship with another client with whom she had ultimately had a child. | The defense said Ms. Johnson left the agency, not because of Mr. Cosby, but because she was confronted by the agency for having a relationship with another client with whom she had ultimately had a child. |
| Mr. Miller, the lawyer who spoke with Ms. Johnson when she made a workers’ compensation claim, said she had told him about the incident at the hotel. | Mr. Miller, the lawyer who spoke with Ms. Johnson when she made a workers’ compensation claim, said she had told him about the incident at the hotel. |
| “He had taken out his penis,” the lawyer said, relating Ms. Johnson’s account, “and had put lubricant on his penis and had wanted her to fondle him and she didn’t want to do that.” | |
| Detective David Mason, of the Durham Regional Police near Toronto, said he spoke with Ms. Constand, who had left Temple and moved home to Canada, in January 2005. He said she had recounted the 2004 incident in Pennsylvania that is the subject of the criminal complaint, telling the detective that Mr. Cosby had given her what he described as herbal pills. | Detective David Mason, of the Durham Regional Police near Toronto, said he spoke with Ms. Constand, who had left Temple and moved home to Canada, in January 2005. He said she had recounted the 2004 incident in Pennsylvania that is the subject of the criminal complaint, telling the detective that Mr. Cosby had given her what he described as herbal pills. |
| “She started feeling dizzy and her legs were feeling jelly,” he said she told him, and she remembered Mr. Cosby lying next to her, touching her breast, placing her hand on his penis. She did not recall having intercourse, she said, but “she said she could tell that something foreign was in her body.” | “She started feeling dizzy and her legs were feeling jelly,” he said she told him, and she remembered Mr. Cosby lying next to her, touching her breast, placing her hand on his penis. She did not recall having intercourse, she said, but “she said she could tell that something foreign was in her body.” |
| Mr. Cosby has acknowledged the encounter, and said that the pills were Benadryl. | Mr. Cosby has acknowledged the encounter, and said that the pills were Benadryl. |
| Under cross-examination by Mr. McMonagle, the detective said Ms. Constand told him she had never been alone with Mr. Cosby before that night, and rarely had contact with him afterward, both points the defense has disputed. | Under cross-examination by Mr. McMonagle, the detective said Ms. Constand told him she had never been alone with Mr. Cosby before that night, and rarely had contact with him afterward, both points the defense has disputed. |
| The hearing transcript released Tuesday indicated that during jury selection, Mr. Cosby’s lawyers had asked for a postponement so that a more racially diverse jury could be found. At that point, five of the 12 jurors had been selected and none was black. | The hearing transcript released Tuesday indicated that during jury selection, Mr. Cosby’s lawyers had asked for a postponement so that a more racially diverse jury could be found. At that point, five of the 12 jurors had been selected and none was black. |
| “We fear that there is a distinct possibility that there won’t be any diversity whatsoever on this jury in a case in which an African-American is charged with a sexual assault on a Caucasian,” Mr. Cosby’s lawyer, Mr. McMonagle, said at a hearing. | “We fear that there is a distinct possibility that there won’t be any diversity whatsoever on this jury in a case in which an African-American is charged with a sexual assault on a Caucasian,” Mr. Cosby’s lawyer, Mr. McMonagle, said at a hearing. |
| But Judge O’Neill denied the motion seeking the postponement, and jurors were selected from Allegheny County, far west of the Philadelphia suburbs where the trial is unfolding, so as to avoid any taint of pretrial publicity. Some 13 percent of the county’s residents are black, according to United States census data. | But Judge O’Neill denied the motion seeking the postponement, and jurors were selected from Allegheny County, far west of the Philadelphia suburbs where the trial is unfolding, so as to avoid any taint of pretrial publicity. Some 13 percent of the county’s residents are black, according to United States census data. |
| “As we continue to select, we should be in a position where we could select a diverse group of Pittsburgh and Allegheny citizens who might be able to render an impartial verdict,” he said. | “As we continue to select, we should be in a position where we could select a diverse group of Pittsburgh and Allegheny citizens who might be able to render an impartial verdict,” he said. |
| The jury ultimately selected includes two blacks and 10 whites. | The jury ultimately selected includes two blacks and 10 whites. |