Jurors are being selected for comedian Bill Cosby’s trial, after more than 50 women accused him of sexually assaulting them.
The once loved US star of ‘The Cosby Show’ has faced dozens of accusations, according to The Independent.
But only one complainant , 43-year-old Andrea Constand, has managed to secure a trial.
Ms Constant has accused the 79-year-old of drugging and molesting her during a visit to his home in 2004.
She said she was ‘in and out’ of awareness, ‘frozen’ and ‘paralysed’ throughout the alleged assault.
Cosby has been charged with with felony aggravated indecent
assault and faces up to 10 years in jail and a $25,000 fine if
convicted.
But he has pleaded not guilty and is currently free on a $1m bail.
The actor has admitted to having sexual relations with Ms Constand in 2004.
He also admitted to giving the sedative Quaaludes to
another woman he wanted to have sex with, but insisted he only gave Ms
Constand the antihistamine Benadryl.
Speaking of the alleged assault, he said: ‘I don’t hear her
say anything. And I don’t feel her say anything. And so I continue and I
go into the area that is somewhere between permission and rejection. I
am not stopped.’
The trial is set to begin next month in Montgomery, Pennsylvania.
But Montgomery County is currently hosting a heated
district attorney race involving former prosecutor Bruce Castor, who
refused to bring charges against Cosby in 2004 and District Attorney
Kevin Steele, who reopened the case in 2015.
Cosby’s team argued that this could influence the jury pool, so jurors will be pulled from Allegheny County.
The prosecuting and defence teams are each allowed to veto
as many potential jurors as they like, providing they can give a valid
explanation.
Prosecutors will be looking for any jurors who show signs of being Cosby fans.
Meanwhile the defence team will want to strike out anybody
with close friends or relatives who have been sexually assaulted, or
anyone who holds resentment against any previous political statements
made by the actor.
During the first day of the selection process, Judge Steven O’Neill asked 100 potential jurors almost 50 questions.
Of the 100 potential jurors, 86 said they had read or heard about the case before.
And 34 said they had already formed an opinion.
It could take hundreds of interviews before 12 suitable jurors and six alternates can be selected.
The trial will begin on June 5 and Cosby is not expected to testify.
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