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| Bill Cosby’s Fate Now Rests With the Jury | |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| • The defense rested its case on Monday after calling one witness, a police detective, who testified for six minutes. | • The defense rested its case on Monday after calling one witness, a police detective, who testified for six minutes. |
| • Closing arguments in the sexual assault trial started immediately, with the defense casting Bill Cosby as a philanderer, but not a criminal, and the prosecution portraying him as someone who used his celebrity and power to take advantage of a young woman who had trusted him. | • Closing arguments in the sexual assault trial started immediately, with the defense casting Bill Cosby as a philanderer, but not a criminal, and the prosecution portraying him as someone who used his celebrity and power to take advantage of a young woman who had trusted him. |
| • Despite speculation that Mr. Cosby might testify, he did not. His wife, Camille, who had not been in court last week, walked in with him on Monday, but left later in the afternoon. | • Despite speculation that Mr. Cosby might testify, he did not. His wife, Camille, who had not been in court last week, walked in with him on Monday, but left later in the afternoon. |
| • Judge Steven T. O’Neill began charging the jury who will decide the case just after 4 p.m. and they deliberated for four hours before retiring to their hotel. | • Judge Steven T. O’Neill began charging the jury who will decide the case just after 4 p.m. and they deliberated for four hours before retiring to their hotel. |
| The deliberations followed closing arguments during which his lawyer acknowledged in court that Mr. Cosby is a deeply flawed man, an unfaithful husband who may have shattered his fans’ illusions, but insisted that what he characterized as a dalliance with a much younger woman was an affair, not a crime. | The deliberations followed closing arguments during which his lawyer acknowledged in court that Mr. Cosby is a deeply flawed man, an unfaithful husband who may have shattered his fans’ illusions, but insisted that what he characterized as a dalliance with a much younger woman was an affair, not a crime. |
| The lead defense attorney, Brian J. McMonagle, acknowledged that revelations of Mr. Cosby’s womanizing, depictions of him as a philander who plied women with charm and drugs, have overtaken his image as a genial comedian and beloved TV dad. | The lead defense attorney, Brian J. McMonagle, acknowledged that revelations of Mr. Cosby’s womanizing, depictions of him as a philander who plied women with charm and drugs, have overtaken his image as a genial comedian and beloved TV dad. |
| But that is no crime, Mr. McMonagle said, arguing that the entertainer’s 2004 encounter with Andrea Constand, the woman Mr. Cosby, 79, is accused of sexually assaulting, was consensual. | But that is no crime, Mr. McMonagle said, arguing that the entertainer’s 2004 encounter with Andrea Constand, the woman Mr. Cosby, 79, is accused of sexually assaulting, was consensual. |
| “They’ve been intimate,” he said. “Why are we trying to make it something it’s not?” | “They’ve been intimate,” he said. “Why are we trying to make it something it’s not?” |
| As if to show that he, too, was disappointed in Mr. Cosby — and perhaps offer the jury the catharsis of a public shaming — Mr. McMonagle pointed at his client and declared angrily, “You danced outside your marriage.” Turning to Mr. Cosby’s wife of more than 50 years, making her first appearance at the trial and sitting in the front row, he added, “And you deserved better.” | As if to show that he, too, was disappointed in Mr. Cosby — and perhaps offer the jury the catharsis of a public shaming — Mr. McMonagle pointed at his client and declared angrily, “You danced outside your marriage.” Turning to Mr. Cosby’s wife of more than 50 years, making her first appearance at the trial and sitting in the front row, he added, “And you deserved better.” |
| Kevin R. Steele, the Montgomery County district attorney, also addressed Mr. Cosby directly, in a closing argument that lasted more than two hours on just the sixth day of a fast-moving case, originally anticipated to have taken weeks, not days, to present. Mr. Steele said Mr. Cosby, a Temple University trustee and the university’s most famous alumnus, set his sights on Ms. Constand, an employee in the university’s athletic department who was 36 years younger than him. | Kevin R. Steele, the Montgomery County district attorney, also addressed Mr. Cosby directly, in a closing argument that lasted more than two hours on just the sixth day of a fast-moving case, originally anticipated to have taken weeks, not days, to present. Mr. Steele said Mr. Cosby, a Temple University trustee and the university’s most famous alumnus, set his sights on Ms. Constand, an employee in the university’s athletic department who was 36 years younger than him. |
| “You ingratiated yourself into this woman’s life,” he said. “You treated her well. You paid her attention. And then you drugged her and you did what you wanted.” | “You ingratiated yourself into this woman’s life,” he said. “You treated her well. You paid her attention. And then you drugged her and you did what you wanted.” |
| He is charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault, each punishable by 10 years in prison. | He is charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault, each punishable by 10 years in prison. |
| The case will turn largely on how credible the panel finds Ms. Constand, who testified that in a visit to Mr. Cosby’s home near Philadelphia, he gave her pills that he said were herbal, but that left her immobile and drifting in and out of consciousness, and sexually assaulted her. He later said he had given her Benadryl. | The case will turn largely on how credible the panel finds Ms. Constand, who testified that in a visit to Mr. Cosby’s home near Philadelphia, he gave her pills that he said were herbal, but that left her immobile and drifting in and out of consciousness, and sexually assaulted her. He later said he had given her Benadryl. |
| She took the witness stand last week as a proxy for the dozens of women who have since stepped forward to say that Mr. Cosby had assaulted them, often with details remarkably similar to Ms. Constand’s story. Adding weight to the allegations was the revelation in 2015 that Mr. Cosby in a deposition for a 2005 civil suit filed by Ms. Constand had admitted to obtaining quaaludes to help him in his pursuit of sex with women. | She took the witness stand last week as a proxy for the dozens of women who have since stepped forward to say that Mr. Cosby had assaulted them, often with details remarkably similar to Ms. Constand’s story. Adding weight to the allegations was the revelation in 2015 that Mr. Cosby in a deposition for a 2005 civil suit filed by Ms. Constand had admitted to obtaining quaaludes to help him in his pursuit of sex with women. |
| None of the other women’s accusations has resulted in prosecution — in many cases, too much time has passed — leaving Ms. Constand’s case as the only formal test of Mr. Cosby’s guilt. Prosecutors wanted to call a dozen of the accusers to testify in the trial, but Judge O’Neill allowed just one, Kelly Johnson, who testified that Mr. Cosby had drugged and assaulted her in 1996. | None of the other women’s accusations has resulted in prosecution — in many cases, too much time has passed — leaving Ms. Constand’s case as the only formal test of Mr. Cosby’s guilt. Prosecutors wanted to call a dozen of the accusers to testify in the trial, but Judge O’Neill allowed just one, Kelly Johnson, who testified that Mr. Cosby had drugged and assaulted her in 1996. |
| Even so, the specter of the other allegations hung over the trial. Jurors conceded during jury selection that they were aware of the claims. Mr. McMonagle on Monday cited the “drumbeat” of highly publicized charges, referring it seemed to the Johnson accusation and charging that the case was more media frenzy than legal tribunal. | Even so, the specter of the other allegations hung over the trial. Jurors conceded during jury selection that they were aware of the claims. Mr. McMonagle on Monday cited the “drumbeat” of highly publicized charges, referring it seemed to the Johnson accusation and charging that the case was more media frenzy than legal tribunal. |
| The defense seized on inconsistencies in the version of events Ms. Constand gave when she went first went to the police, and statements she made later on: She said the assault took place in March 2004, after dinner at a restaurant, then said it occurred earlier, unconnected to the restaurant outing; she said it was first time she had been alone with Mr. Cosby in his home, then said it was the third time, and that she had rebuffed his sexual advances the first two times; she said she had minimal communication with him after the incident, then acknowledged many contacts. | The defense seized on inconsistencies in the version of events Ms. Constand gave when she went first went to the police, and statements she made later on: She said the assault took place in March 2004, after dinner at a restaurant, then said it occurred earlier, unconnected to the restaurant outing; she said it was first time she had been alone with Mr. Cosby in his home, then said it was the third time, and that she had rebuffed his sexual advances the first two times; she said she had minimal communication with him after the incident, then acknowledged many contacts. |
| “Ms. Constand was untruthful time and time and time again,” Mr. McMonagle told the jury. “There is one contradictory story after another.” | “Ms. Constand was untruthful time and time and time again,” Mr. McMonagle told the jury. “There is one contradictory story after another.” |
| He questioned why an assault victim would have continued to have contact with her assailant, and as evidence of an intimate relationship, he cited a trip Ms. Constand took to a resort to see Mr. Cosby perform, when she visited him in his hotel room. “Why on earth would you go to Foxwoods casino in Connecticut after he has already unbuttoned your pants and put his hands down your pants?” he demanded. | He questioned why an assault victim would have continued to have contact with her assailant, and as evidence of an intimate relationship, he cited a trip Ms. Constand took to a resort to see Mr. Cosby perform, when she visited him in his hotel room. “Why on earth would you go to Foxwoods casino in Connecticut after he has already unbuttoned your pants and put his hands down your pants?” he demanded. |
| During the trial, the prosecution called one expert who testified that victims’ accounts are often disjointed and inconsistent, and another who said that Benadryl, in a high dose, could be a powerful sedative. Under cross-examination, Ms. Constand explained her lapses as innocent mistakes, and said her contacts with Mr. Cosby after the incident were mostly cursory, the unavoidable result of her job duties. | During the trial, the prosecution called one expert who testified that victims’ accounts are often disjointed and inconsistent, and another who said that Benadryl, in a high dose, could be a powerful sedative. Under cross-examination, Ms. Constand explained her lapses as innocent mistakes, and said her contacts with Mr. Cosby after the incident were mostly cursory, the unavoidable result of her job duties. |
| He described her later contacts with him as irrelevant, and said jurors should ignore what Mr. Steele said were myths about how sexual assault victims are supposed to behave. | He described her later contacts with him as irrelevant, and said jurors should ignore what Mr. Steele said were myths about how sexual assault victims are supposed to behave. |
| When Ms. Constand’s mother called to confront Mr. Cosby about a year after the incident, he said, the defendant’s apology, and his offer to pay for her schooling, therapy and a trip to Florida, were evidence that he knew he had done something wrong. | When Ms. Constand’s mother called to confront Mr. Cosby about a year after the incident, he said, the defendant’s apology, and his offer to pay for her schooling, therapy and a trip to Florida, were evidence that he knew he had done something wrong. |
| “Andrea Constand’s own words, just what she told you, should sustain a conviction in this case,” Mr. Steele said. “But under the defendant’s own words, you must convict.” | “Andrea Constand’s own words, just what she told you, should sustain a conviction in this case,” Mr. Steele said. “But under the defendant’s own words, you must convict.” |
| Mr. Cosby’s lawyers were, in essence, promoting the view that prosecutors had failed to prove anything. | Mr. Cosby’s lawyers were, in essence, promoting the view that prosecutors had failed to prove anything. |
| The only witness called, Sgt. Richard Schaffer of the Cheltenham Township Police, had interviewed Mr. Cosby and Ms. Constand after her initial complaint 12 years ago. Mr. McMonagle questioned him about a document he created in 2005, labeled “Questions for Andrea,” where the detective indicated he too was curious as to why she had gone to see Mr. Cosby at Foxwoods. | The only witness called, Sgt. Richard Schaffer of the Cheltenham Township Police, had interviewed Mr. Cosby and Ms. Constand after her initial complaint 12 years ago. Mr. McMonagle questioned him about a document he created in 2005, labeled “Questions for Andrea,” where the detective indicated he too was curious as to why she had gone to see Mr. Cosby at Foxwoods. |
| The defense chose not to summon Bruce L. Castor, Jr., the former district attorney who in 2005 declined to file criminal charges against Mr. Cosby. | The defense chose not to summon Bruce L. Castor, Jr., the former district attorney who in 2005 declined to file criminal charges against Mr. Cosby. |
| On Monday, Judge O’Neill questioned Mr. Cosby about his team’s bare-bones defense, including asking whether he agreed with the decisions not to testify, himself, and to call only a single witness. Mr. Cosby replied with a series of staccato answers, such as “yes” and “correct.” | On Monday, Judge O’Neill questioned Mr. Cosby about his team’s bare-bones defense, including asking whether he agreed with the decisions not to testify, himself, and to call only a single witness. Mr. Cosby replied with a series of staccato answers, such as “yes” and “correct.” |