Bill Cosby's sexual assault case ends in a mistrial
Bill Cosby's sexual assault case has ended in a mistrial. After
six days of deliberation, the seven men and five women selected to
serve on the jury were unable to render a unanimous verdict on any of
the three counts of felony aggravated indecent assault with which Cosby
had been charged.
The
comedian pleaded not guilty. Kevin R. Steel, the district attorney from
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, who brought the charges, has announced
he will retry the case.
After
more than 40 hours of discussion, the jury told the judge that they
were deadlocked, and he ordered them to continue deliberations.
During
the week-long trial, Cosby, 79, never took the stand, but excerpts from
his 2005 to 2006 depositions in a civil suit brought on by Constand
were read aloud.
The
defense called only one witness -- a detective -- to the stand, while
Constand, her mother, another accuser Kelly Johnson and others testified
last week for the prosecution.
Cosby's wife, Camille Cosby, attended the trial for the first time on Monday.
Montgomery
County District Attorney Kevin Steele closed the prosecution's case on
Monday by describing Cosby as a calculating sexual predator, who not
only drugged and assaulted Constand in 2004, but also recast the attack
as consensual and romantic.
Cosby's
attorney Brian McMonagle delivered a dramatic closing argument,
highlighting Constand's inconsistencies and those of Johnson.
Constand,
44, testified for seven hours over the course of two days last week,
telling the jury that in 2004, Cosby gave her a drug at his home in
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, that rendered her unable to stop his
alleged assaults.
"In
my head I was trying to get my hands to move or my legs to move, but I
was frozen and those [mental] messages didn’t get there and I was very
limp, so I wasn’t able to fight him," she said. "I wanted it to stop."
According to portions of Cosby's deposition, he gave Constand Benadryl to "relax" her during a consensual sexual encounter.
"I wanted her to be comfortable and relaxed and be able to go to sleep after our necking session," he said.
The
jury also heard quotes from Cosby's deposition about his use of
Quaaludes in the 1970s. Cosby admitted to giving the prescription
sedative to multiple women with whom he wanted to have sex, and said
that he didn't take the drug himself. But he did not admit to giving
Quaaludes to anyone without their knowledge.
Cosby has denied any wrongdoing in other accusations.
Source: abcnews
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