Bill Cosby Trial For Sexual Assault Will Proceed, Judge Rules
The trial will surround the assault claim by Andrea Constand
- by
Erin Rooney
A judge has ruled that Bill Cosby will stand trial for an alleged sexual assault on Andrea Constand, which occurred in 2004.
On Tuesday, Bill Cosby attended the courtroom, where prosecutors alleged that he drugged Andrea Constand, a former basketball coach, and attacked her. Now 78 years old, Cosby has been accused of a number of sexual assaults, however this is the only one that has caused criminal proceedings, given that many of the other claims are too far in the past.
The preliminary trial saw a police interview with Andrea Constand in 2005 analysed before the judge, in which Constand described what happened. She said that Cosby offered her some pills to 'take the edge off'. She told Cosby that she trusted him and soon after, he sexually assaulted her while she was 'paralysed'.
The judge concluded that there was significant evidence to make Cosby stand trial, and if convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.
Cosby has insisted in the past that the sexual contact with Constand was consensual. Constand has revealed that she is gay and was in a relationship with a woman at the time, and that the sexual contact was not consensual.
Cosby is currently awaiting a date for the trial.
