NORRISTOWN >> Montgomery County prosecutors want a judge to allow 19 other women who accuse entertainer Bill Cosby of sexual misconduct to testify at his upcoming retrial on charges he sexually assaulted one woman at his Cheltenham mansion in 2004.
“During this investigation, the Commonwealth investigated more than 50 other claims of defendant’s virtually identical drug-facilitated sexual assaults on young women,” District Attorney Kevin R. Steele wrote in court documents filed on Thursday.
With the request, Steele is taking another stab at having more alleged accusers testify against Cosby.
During Cosby’s first trial, which ended in a mistrial last June, Judge Steven T. O’Neill ruled prosecutors could present the testimony of only one “prior alleged victim” at Cosby’s trial on charges he sexually assaulted Andrea Constand, a former Temple University athletic department employee, after plying her with blue pills and wine at his home sometime between mid-January and mid-February 2004.
Steele had asked the judge to allow a total of 13 other alleged Cosby accusers to testify at the first trial, but Judge O’Neill ruled on Feb. 24, 2017, 12 of the women could not testify at the June trial.
At the time, O’Neill’s ruling was considered one of the major pretrial legal decisions in the Cosby case. Legal insiders believed the key to the prosecution’s case against Cosby was the admissibility of evidence involving alleged accusers who came forward after Constand’s allegations came to light.
With the new filing, Steele essentially is seeking a reconsideration of the judge’s Feb. 24, 2017 ruling. Steele argued a decision by a state court in another case, “that was decided after” O’Neill’s February 2017 ruling, determined that such “prior bad acts evidence” is admissible evidence at a trial.
“This evidence is relevant…to demonstrate a common scheme, plan or design,” Steele wrote in court papers.
William Henry Cosby Jr., as his name appears on charging documents, faces three counts of aggravated indecent assault in connection with allegations he had inappropriate sexual contact with Constand. Cosby maintains his contact with Constand was consensual.
Cosby remains free on 10 percent of $1 million bail, pending the retrial.
Cosby faces a possible maximum sentence of 15 to 30 years in prison if convicted of the charges.
Cosby’s first trial ended in a mistrial last June 17 after a jury of seven men and five women selected from Allegheny County individually told the judge they were hopelessly deadlocked “on all counts” after deliberating more than 52 hours over six days. The deliberations took longer than the evidentiary portion of the trial.
Steele immediately vowed to seek a retrial.
Cosby is now represented by defense lawyers Tom Mesereau, of Los Angeles, Samuel W. Silver, of Philadelphia, and Kathleen Bliss, of Las Vegas.
This is a developing story. Check back here for the latest information as it becomes available.
