Andrea Constand v. Bill Cosby
Andrea Constand v. William H. Cosby, Jr. is a civil suit filed in federal court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in March 2005 and resolved with an undisclosed cash settlement (including a confidentiality agreement between its two parties) in November 2006.
[5] Constand averaged 10 points per game in her senior season and helped the Wildcats win the NIT,[6] and later pursued a career as a professional basketball player in Europe.
On February 22, 2005, Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor issued a press release stating that he "finds insufficient, credible and admissible evidence exists upon which any charge against Mr. Cosby could be sustained beyond a reasonable doubt."
[9] Constand filed a civil claim in March 2005, alleging both the rape, and post-rape libel by Cosby's denial of wrongdoing, with 13 women as potential witnesses if the case went to court.
[10] In a July 2005 Philadelphia Daily News interview, Beth Ferrier, one of the anonymous "Jane Doe" witnesses in the Constand case, alleged that in 1984 Cosby drugged her coffee and she awoke with her clothes askew.
Cosby's testimony in the civil case showed a history of casual sex involving use of Quaaludes with a series of young women.
[24][25] The judge ruled that releasing the sealed document was justified by Cosby's role as a "public moralist" in contrast to his possible criminal private behavior.
[21] On July 18, 2015, The New York Times, having obtained the complete deposition from a court reporting service (hired by Constand) which had released the document to the public domain,[22] published a summary and excerpts.
In a court filing condemning the release of the deposition, Cosby's attorneys stressed that none of the testimony so far unsealed by a judge stated that he engaged in non-consensual sex or gave anyone Quaaludes without their knowledge or consent: "Reading the media accounts, one would conclude that the Defendant has admitted to rape," the document said.
[19][20] Cosby also made further accusations that Constand had violated the confidentiality agreement, referring to vague postings on her Twitter account (including one that simply contained the word "YES!").
Cosby admitted in the unsealed civil deposition that he digitally penetrated Constand which, if non-consensual, would be grounds for a felony charge such as aggravated indecent assault.
Several legal experts, including former prosecutors and at least one former deputy Attorney General, have said the case could be reopened and possibly tried in light of this and other additional evidence that had surfaced in the past year.
[citation needed] Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman would neither confirm nor deny whether her office was reconsidering the case that her predecessor closed a decade ago.
[30] On September 22, 2015, lawyer Edwin Jacobs said that Cosby's agents had contacted him in the past few days about a pending criminal investigation in Montgomery County.
Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman again still remained silent when asked if an investigation had been re-opened in the Andrea Constand Case.
"[citation needed] On October 27, 2015, it was confirmed, from reliable sources, that an open criminal sexual assault investigation into the Constand case had been re-opened shortly after Cosby's deposition was released to the press during the summer.
"[31] Bruce Castor, the District Attorney in charge of investigating Constand's original claim, decided to run for the position again after leaving office in 2008.
[33][37][38] Based on the very detailed arrest warrant filed on December 15, 2015,[39] the alleged sexual assault on Constand is presumed to have occurred at Cosby's home in Cheltenham Township, PA, on an unspecified date between mid-January and mid-February 2004.
The accusation against Cosby was first made to the Durham Regional Police Service near Constand's home in Pickering, Ontario, on January 13, 2005; the report was subsequently forwarded to the authorities in Pennsylvania.
[2] Cosby appeared in court during the afternoon of December 30, 2015, to face the three second degree felony counts[1] of aggravated indecent assault without entering a plea, arrange for bail, and be formally charged.
[43] Cosby's attorney issued the following statement after the arraignment: "The charge ... came as no surprise, filed 12 years after the alleged incident and coming on the heels of a hotly contested election for this county's DA during which this case was made the focal point.
Bruce Castor had written a 2015 email to his successor, Risa Fermin, that acknowledged a verbal agreement that Cosby's testimony in the civil suit would not be used for a criminal trial.
[45] On June 17, 2017, a US judge declared a mistrial in the Bill Cosby sex assault case after the jury remained deadlocked for days.
[47][48][49] The following situation was cited: previously in February 2005, District Attorney Bruce Castor declared in a press release that due to insufficient evidence rendering a conviction "unattainable", he "declines to authorize the filing of criminal charges" against Cosby regarding allegations Andrea Constand made against him.
[49] Castor said he did so to compel Cosby to testify in a civil lawsuit, brought by Constand, without the right to not incriminate himself as accorded by the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
