Thursday’s New York Daily News features a powerful cover highlighting the daunting number of allegations against Bill Cosby:
But the cover actually understates the weight of the evidence against Cosby. It’s not just the detailed allegations of more than 50 women that implicates Cosby. He is also implicated by his own description of his conduct.
Kevin Steele, the Pennsylvania prosecutor who charged Cosby today, relied on Cosby’s own statements to support a charge of Aggravated Indecent Assault. The criminal complaint filed by Steele revealed that Cosby told police investigators that he gave Amanda Constand “one whole pill and one half pill” of “over-the-counter Benadryl” even though he knew the pills would “make him go to sleep right away.” He then acknowledged having sexual contact with her when he knew she would not be fully conscious.
Constand’s version of events strongly suggests Cosby gave her something much stronger than Benadryl.
But even if you take Cosby’s version at face value, Steele argues that his conduct supports a charge of sexual assault.
In his deposition in the a civil case filed by Constand, Cosby also admitted acquiring Quaaludes and using them to aid his efforts to have sex with women.
That is something that he said, not she said.