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Bill Cosby To Face Criminal Charges For Sexual Assault

BILL COSBY CREDIT: AP/PHELAN M. EB
BILL COSBY CREDIT: AP/PHELAN M. EB

Prosecutors announced Wednesday morning that Bill Cosby will face criminal charges for a sexual assault he allegedly committed in 2004 against a former Temple University employee. He is expected to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon.

Kevin Steele, First Assistant District Attorney for Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, explained the charges at a press conference. The statute of limitations in such cases is 12 years and has not yet expired. A new investigation opened this summer found that Cosby established a relationship with the victim. The victim, Steele explained, “came to consider Mr. Cosby her mentor and her friend.” Before the night in question, he previously made two sexual advances that she rejected. The night of the violation, he encouraged her to take pills with wine, and then sexually assaulted her, the prosecutor alleged.

The official charge is “aggravated indecent assault,” a felony under Pennsylvania law. According to the official criminal docket, the charges include assault without consent, assault while complainant is unconscious or unaware, and assault that includes impairing the complainant. Steele explained that similar accusations from other women about Cosby’s use of Quaaludes was a “significant factor” that prompted officials to consider the charges.

Though more than 50 women have accused the comedian of sexual assault, this will be the first time that Cosby actually faces criminal charges. He previously settled a civil suit with the victim, Andrea Constand, after authorities declined to press charges. In that case, Cosby admitted to giving women Quaaludes to facilitate having sex with them.

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Cosby has denied the many accusations against him, and has even filed countersuits against seven of the women who have claimed he sexually assaulted him, calling them liars.