The defense in Bill Cosby’s sexual assault trial subjected the accuser to a vigorous cross-examination on Wednesday, highlighting inconsistencies in her account surrounding the alleged crime more than 13 years ago.
The prosecution followed up with a swift counter-attack and plaintiff Andrea Constand, 44, remained steadfast on the stand in what could prove decisive to an explosive celebrity trial that experts say boils down to her word against his.
The Canadian massage therapist — who was an employee at Cosby’s alma mater Temple University at the time of the alleged assault — was grilled by his high-powered defense team for nearly five hours on the third day of the Pennsylvania trial.
She says the entertainer, once loved by millions as “America’s Dad” for his seminal role on the hit TV series “The Cosby Show,” gave her three pills and wine before sexually assaulting her at his Philadelphia mansion in January 2004.
Constand says she went to his home to seek career advice after coming to regard the pioneering black comedian, movie actor and television star a mentor.
Prosecutors questioned her for nearly four hours on Tuesday, when she delivered her first public account of the alleged assault in January 2004.
On Wednesday, defense lawyer Angela Agrusa zeroed in on successive statements Constand gave to law enforcement in early 2005 — a year later — as the now-disgraced 79-year-old megastar sat in court averting his gaze from his accuser.
Cosby is charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault, which each carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.
“You changed your story,” Agrusa told Constand in the Montgomery County Court in Norristown, just outside Philadelphia.
Constand originally said the alleged assault took place on March 16, 2004 and initially failed to disclose other meetings with Cosby, best known for his “Cosby Show” role as affable father and obstetrician Cliff Huxtable.
Constand told the court that she brushed Cosby off each time, but his lawyer accused her of allowing ambiguity to creep into their relationship.
Referring to dozens of phone calls between Constand and a young woman — often before or after her meetings with Cosby — the defense also suggested that Constand may have been open to manipulation.
Agrusa also said that Constand joined Cosby at a dinner with other guests just weeks after the alleged assault and that she gave him a present on behalf of one of her friends.
“You’re coming to the man that assaulted you and you’re bringing him bath salts?” the lawyer asked.
But Constand kept her cool, correcting any statements she thought inaccurate, speaking firmly, often looking at the 12 jurors directly and smiling regularly.
“Mr Cosby never disclosed to me that he was interested in a romantic interaction with me,” said Constand, dressed in a white jacket and a light blue top.
After the defense had finished, assistant district attorney Kristen Feden counter-attacked, hammering home certain key points.
Asking Constand to read passages from her evidence in 2005, she emphasized that if she had made various mistakes and omissions here and there, her detailed account of the alleged assault itself had not changed.
“You did not consent,” she said three times, to which Constand replied in the affirmative each time.
While another of Cosby’s high-powered defense team, Brian McMonagle, repeatedly displayed irritation and annoyance, the defendant himself — who maintains that he is legally blind — appeared upbeat during breaks and exchanged pleasantries.
Around 60 women have publicly accused Cosby of being a serial sexual predator for decades. The accusations ended the comedian’s career and left him isolated from friends and fellow celebrities.
However, Constand’s allegations form the basis of the only criminal case against him because most of the alleged abuse happened too long ago to prosecute.
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.
Cosby maintains that he gave Constand the antihistamine Benadryl only to relieve stress, insisting that their sexual relations were consensual and accusing her of lying.
Thirty years old at the time, Constand was director of women’s basketball at Temple University, where Cosby sat on the board of trustees.
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