Bill Cosby Will Stand Trial For Sexual Assault

By Sameer Rao May 25, 2016

A Pennsylvania judge ruled yesterday (May 24) that Bill Cosby will stand trial for his alleged sexual violence against Andrea Constand, a former employee at Cosby’s alma mater, Temple University.

According to CNN, Cosby faces "three counts of felony aggravated indecent assault" stemming from Constand’s 2004 civil suit in which she accused the entertainer of sexual assaulting her. More than 50 women have claimed that Cosby sexually abused them. 

Yesterday’s ruling came two days after the Associated Press published excerpts from a 2005-2006 deposition during which Constand’s lawyer inquired about several allegations besides her client’s. Cosby admitted to giving women Quaaludes before sex, as well as taking one sexual encounter "into the area that is somewhere between permission and rejection." He also acknowledged an encounter with a woman Constand’s lawyer identified as 17 years old. 

"There was no evidence of a crime here," said Cosby’s defense attorney yesterday. "The inconsistencies that plagued this investigation from the beginning continue to plague it now. This case should end immediately."
 
The district attorney for Montgomery County, where Cosby could stand trial, said prosecutors only had to "prove that a crime was committed and the defendant’s connected to the crime." 
 
Each charge against Cosby carries a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment.