Main Accuser Blasts Bill Cosby In Court

The main accuser in Bill Cosby’s trial gave emotional testimony in court Tuesday, delivering her first public remarks about the night he allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted her 13 years ago.

In one of America’s biggest celebrity trials in years, the disgraced 79-year-old megastar faces three counts of aggravated indecent assault, which each carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail and a $25,000 fine.

Around 60 women have publicly accused the Emmy-winning television star and comedian of being a serial sexual predator for decades, ending his career and leaving him isolated by friends and celebrities.

But his fate rests on the allegations of just one, Andrea Constand, about an encounter at his Philadelphia mansion in January 2004.

It is the only criminal case against him, as most of the alleged abuse happened too long ago to prosecute.
“I wanted it to stop,” 44-year-old Constand told the second day of the trial in Norristown, Pennsylvania about the evening in question.

Constand’s testimony is central to the case against the star of “The Cosby Show,” one of the most popular shows in the history of television. Legal experts say the case will essentially boil down to her word against his.

She says the pioneering black comedian, whom she considered a mentor, gave her three pills and wine before sexually assaulting her on his couch after she sought his advice about moving to Canada and switching careers.

The then-30-year-old director of women’s basketball at Temple University — where Cosby was serving on the board of trustees — said she had asked the television star if the pills were herbal, and that he indicated they were.

“I said I trust you,” she recalled saying at the time.

About half an hour later, Constand said, she had trouble talking and difficulty moving and was suffering double vision. After briefly losing consciousness, she regained it as Cosby was touching her private parts, she testified.

“In my head, I was trying to get my hands to move, get my legs to move, but I was frozen and those messages didn’t get there,” she said, her voice breaking.

Tuesday marked her first public appearance since she submitted to a deposition in December 2005, after waiting a year to report the alleged assault.

She initially settled the case with a civil suit in 2006, but prosecutors in Montgomery County re-opened it in 2015, saying new evidence had come to light.

Smiling, dressed in a pale blue jacket and a white top, she answered initial questions from Assistant District Attorney Kristen Feden calmly but her demeanor changed when the testimony switched to the alleged assault.

“I felt really humiliated and I was really confused,” she said.

Cosby maintains only that he gave Constand the antihistamine Benadryl to relieve stress, insists their sexual relations were consensual and accuses her of lying.

Cosby, for years feted by millions as “America’s Dad” for his role as a lovable obstetrician and father on “The Cosby Show,” says he is now legally blind.