On Wednesday, Dec. 30, not only did Bill Cosby get charged with alleged aggravated indecent assault, but he was also arraigned for the second degree felony. During his arraignment, the 78-year-old comedian did not have to enter a plea and posted $1 million bail, Deadline reported. Later Wednesday night, Cosby's lawyer Monique Pressley released a statement commenting on the charge via Twitter and she appears to be pretty confident that the former Cosby Show actor will walk away scot-free.
The statement reads as follows:
The charge by the Montgomery County District Attorney's office 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. Make no mistake, we intend to mount a vigorous defense against this unjustified charge and we expect that Mr. Cosby will be exonerated by a court of law.
The charge brought against Cosby is in response to the alleged assault of former Temple University employee Amanda Constand, who claims Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her at his Pennsylvania home in 2004. Kevin Steele, first assistant district attorney and incoming DA, said during a Wednesday press conference regarding the charges, "Upon examination of all of the evidence, today we are able to seek justice on behalf of Mr. Cosby's victim."
This is the first time a criminal charge has been brought against Cosby, after more than 50 women have stepped forward claiming the actor has sexually assaulted them. Constand's case is 10 years old, and she first filed a civil lawsuit against Cosby in 2005. If found guilty, Cosby faces up to 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.
Pressley also spoke with the Today show Thursday, where she confidently defended Cosby. She called the case a "game of political football," and after being asked if there would be acceptance of any kind of plea deal offered by the prosecution, Pressley declared, "My client is not guilty and there will be no consideration on our part of any sort of arrangement."
She also brought up when Constand first issued a civil lawsuit against her client. At that time, the DA, Bruce Castor, did not charge Cosby. According to the current DA's office, Constand's case is being reopened based on new evidence from over the summer when the Associated Press obtained documents from a 2005 deposition where Cosby admitted to obtaining Quaaludes to give to women he wanted to have sex with. The deposition also included claims from Cosby about Constand and what he described as a "sexual moment" with her.
Regarding these documents, Pressley said, "There is no admission of criminal wrongdoing with respect to Mr. Cosby. There’s detailed testimony about this incident and others."
Cosby's previous lawyer released the following statement in response to the increasing number of allegations of sexual abuse in November 2014,
Over the last several weeks, decade-old, discredited allegations against Mr. Cosby have resurfaced. The fact that they are being repeated does not make them true. Mr. Cosby does not intend to dignify these allegations with any comment. He would like to thank all his fans for the outpouring of support and assure them that, at age 77, he is doing his best work. There will be no further statement from Mr. Cosby or any of his representatives.
