Cosby returns to court to seek dismissal of sex assault charges

[DonViejo]

Source: Reuters

07 JUL 2016 AT 07:44 ET

Bill Cosby is set to return to a Pennsylvania criminal court on Thursday, when the comedian’s lawyers will mount their latest attempt to have the sexual assault case against him thrown out.

Lawyers for Cosby, 78, will argue that the accuser, Andrea Constand, should be required to testify and answer questions from the defense before the case is permitted to proceed to trial.

Cosby, once one of the most beloved U.S. entertainers thanks to his family-friendly persona, is facing accusations of sexual assault from dozens of women stretching back decades. The Pennsylvania case is the only criminal prosecution against him, as most of the other allegations involve incidents that are too old to produce charges.

Cosby has denied assaulting anyone and has portrayed his 2004 encounter with Constand as consensual.

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Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2016/07/cosby-returns-to-court-to-seek-dismissal-of-sex-assault-charges/

[Eugene]

1. Cosby loses latest bid to get sex assault charges dismissed

Source: Reuters

World | Thu Jul 7, 2016 5:06pm EDT

Cosby loses latest bid to get sex assault charges dismissed

NORRISTOWN, PA. | BY JOSEPH AX

A Pennsylvania judge on Thursday denied Bill Cosby's latest bid to have the sexual assault charges against him thrown out, ruling that the 78-year-old comedian must stand trial in the case.

Judge Steven O'Neill rejected Cosby's arguments that prosecutors violated his rights by refusing to call the accuser, Andrea Constand, as a witness at a preliminary hearing in May, thus shielding her from cross-examination.

"This case shall proceed to trial on those counts," O'Neill said at the conclusion of a three-hour hearing in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas.

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Constand's allegations that Cosby assaulted her at his home in 2004 have resulted in the only criminal prosecution against him, as most of the other claims involve incidents that are too old to produce charges.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-people-cosby-idUSKCN0ZN0XE