Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial explained

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Bill Cosby trial: Potential issues in jury selection

Bill Cosby is in court as jury selection begins in the sexual assault trial with accuser Andrea Constand. Here are some potential issues facing the selection

The Bill Cosby sexual assault case ended with the presiding judge declaring a mistrial over the weekend.

The 79-year-old comedian, once known as “America’s Dad,” was charged with drugging and molesting Andrea Constand, a former Temple University employee, at his Philadelphia home in 2004. Cosby has said it was consensual.

While dozens of other women with similar stories have accused Cosby of sexual assault, this is the only criminal case to be brought against him. He is still charged with three counts of felony aggravated indecent assault.

With so many accusations from so many different women during the years, Cosby’s reputation in recent years has been shattered. Here’s everything you need to know about the case.

What are the allegations against him?

While Constand was employed as Temple University’s director of operations for the women’s basketball team between 2001 and 2004, she met Cosby, an alumnus of the Philadelphia college, according to court documents. Eventually the pair “developed what [Constand] believed to be a sincere friendship,” and she looked to Cosby as a mentor, the court documents state.

Constand alleges that Cosby made sexual advances on multiple occasions and that she turned them down. But Constand is accusing Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting her during one specific visit to his home sometime between mid-January and mid-February of 2004.

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According to court documents, Constand — then 30 years old — told Cosby about the anxiety she had regarding her career and said she felt “drained.” Cosby offered “three blue pills” that he said were “herbal” and instructed her to take them as they would “take the edge off,” court documents allege.

Constand said she took the pills with water but also sipped on wine as Cosby had instructed.

Within 20 to 30 minutes of taking the pills, Constand said her vision became blurry, and she had difficulty speaking, according to a probable cause affidavit. She also described not being aware of sounds or time and feeling as though she was “in and out.”

Court documents describe, in graphic detail, the alleged sexual assault. “The victim told investigators that she did not consent to any of these acts, and was unable to move or speak during the assault," the documents say.

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Constand said she couldn't remember any kissing or intercourse between them, according to statements she gave police.

Cosby has maintained that the sexual activity between the two was consensual, and she never said “no.”

Why was Cosby on trial for something that allegedly happened in 2004?

Constand didn’t tell anyone about the night in question for a year, according to People. She said she finally told her mother, Gianna Constand, on Jan. 13, 2005.

Upon learning of her daughter’s alleged assault, Gianna Constand made two calls — one to Cosby and one to the police in their town of Ontario, Canada.

The younger Constand said that “an element of fear” was what kept her silent about the incident for so long.

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“Before I was going to say anything to anyone, I had to put my own thoughts and feelings together. I was emotionally shocked. I was still traumatized about the whole situation,” Constand told People. “I had some emotional stress I was dealing with. I needed to come to terms with this on my own.”

In 2005, Constand sued Cosby. The suit included 13 Jane Does who also accused Cosby of wrongdoing. The case was settled for an undisclosed amount the following year.

A federal court unsealed documents from the lawsuit in 2015 at the request of the Associated Press.

A judge ruled in December 2016 that potentially damning testimony Cosby gave in the civil suit could be used in the trial. In the testimony, Cosby admitted to buying Quaaludes and giving women drugs and alcohol before having sex.

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Cosby has demanded in court that Constand return the confidential settlement money as she broke the terms of the agreement by talking to police without first notifying him.

Constand’s lawyers said the settlement allows for Constand to talk to police and withhold it from Cosby at the request of law enforcement officials — a request the lawyer said she received.

What happened?

In her opening statements, Assistant District Attorney Kristen Feden pointed to Cosby’s past testimony regarding his interactions with Constand — especially his admission that he gave her drugs and had sexual contact with her.

But Cosby’s defense lawyer Brian McGonagle sought to discredit Constand as he pointed to inconsistencies in the account of the evening she gave to police. He also pointed out that the pair had spoken by phone 72 times following the alleged assault, and Constand initiated a majority of those calls, according to phone records.

When Constand took the stand on the trial’s third day, she said that she called Cosby to return messages he left regarding the women’s basketball team at Temple; he was a powerful member of the university’s board, and she was the director of team operations at the time.

McGonagle said that falsely accusing someone of sexual assault is also a terrible crime. “[It] can destroy a man,” he said. “Can destroy his life.”

Constand testified some seven hours over two days during the first week of the trial. She was direct and polite under cross-examination, even when Cosby lawyer Angela Agrusa’s questioning grew pointed and accusatory. Cosby kept still, looking down at the defense table through most of the morning.

Kelly Johnson, another woman who has accused Cosby of assault, testified during the trial. She was emotional as she said that in 1996 she lost consciousness after Cosby coerced her into taking a large white pill. At the time, Johnson was in her mid-30s. She said she remembered waking up with her dress pulled down.

Cosby’s 2005 deposition was read in court — during which the jurors heard that Cosby had admitted to giving Constand pills but thought the encounter was consensual.

Cosby told lawyers in the civil deposition that he only apologized for giving her pills and fondling her because he thought her mother saw him as a “dirty old man with a young girl.” Cosby testified in the deposition that he thought he had caused trouble because he was 66 at the time and Constand was 30.

In the deposition, Cosby said he gave Constand three half-tablets of Benadryl.

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What are the details of the trial?

The trial took place in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Jurors were selected from outside Montgomery County due to the extensive local media coverage of the case.

Montgomery County judge Steven O’Neill presided over the case.

O’Neill said in April that the trial was expected to take two weeks.

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The estimation of how long the trial would last was somewhat surprising, considering the length of time since the charges were filed  — in December 2015 — and the multiple pretrial hearings since then.

What about the other women? 

Cosby’s trial was only about his encounters with and alleged assault of Constand. However, Johnson, who has accused Cosby of sexual misconduct, was permitted to testify at the trial.

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What would happen if Cosby is found guilty?

If Cosby is found guilty of all three charges, he could spend 30 years behind bars and be fined up to $75,000.

How is Cosby’s health?

Cosby’s lawyers said in November 2016 that the septuagenarian is too blind to be able to identify his accusers in pictures or help with the defense.

Cosby said earlier this year that he is completely blind. He was also seen struggling with his coat and walking with the help of an aide while entering court.

Cosby’s lawyer, Monica Pressley, has said that her client’s health is “not a defense to a charge,” but instead a “fact.”

How does the statute of limitations affect the allegations against Cosby?

Cosby was charged just as Pennsylvania’s 12-year statute of limitations was set to expire Constand’s case against her former mentor.

Sexual assault victims over the age of 18 have 12 years to report an assault in Pennsylvania, according to the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape. Victims under the age of 18 and born after 2002 have 32 years after their 18th birthday to file charges; if born before 2002, underage victims have 12 years to report after their 18th birthday.

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For Constand, the statute of limitations was set to expire in January 2016; Cosby was charged in December 2015.

The comedian is protected from many of the sexual assault allegations he faces from other women because of statute of limitations laws.

Does race play a factor in this case?

In a May 2017 interview, Cosby alleged that race “could be” a reason for the onslaught of sexual assault accusations against him.

“There are many tentacles,” he said. “So many different — nefarious is a great word — and I just truly believe that some of it may very well be that.”

Daughter Ensa Cosby said in a statement in May that she believes her father is innocent and a victim of racism.

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“I believe that racism has played a big role in all aspects of this scandal,” she said. “How the charges came against him, how people believed them before they were ever scrutinized or tested, how people who questioned the claims were shut down and ignored.”

Cosby’s defense has also alleged racial bias in jury selection. His lawyers argued in May that Pennsylvania prosecutors “systematically” tried to keep black jurors off the panel after the prosecution struck two black women from the jury.

There were two black jurors on the 12-person panel. Five of the 12 were women.

What happened with the jury deliberations?

Jurors deliberated more than 52 hours over six days before telling a judge they couldn't break their deadlock.

The 12-member jury had to reach a unanimous decision to convict or acquit the comedian and former star of "The Cosby Show."

What happens now? 

Prosecutors are planning to retry Cosby.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele may ask the judge in a retrial to allow testimony from more of Cosby's 60 accusers, or to disclose to jurors that Constand is gay  - something which never came up in her seven hours of testimony.

The defense had hoped, if it did, to introduce evidence she had previously dated a man.

Cosby remains free on $1 million bail in the criminal case, and a retrial may be scheduled by the judge within weeks.

The entertainer is also fighting sexual battery or defamation cases still pending by 10 women in California and Massachusetts.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.