After years of rumors and more than 50 accusers coming forward with allegations of misconduct, Bill Cosby is finally being charged with sexual assault.
TMZ is reporting today that Cosby will be charged in connection with accusations made by Andrea Constand, a former Temple University employee who claims that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her in 2004.
Costand sued Cosby in 2005, and the case was settled out of court one year later.
It was during that civil trial that Cosby admitted to drugging women with the intent to have sex with them while they were passed out.
The 78-year-old former television icon stopped just short of admitting that he had carried through on his plans to rape the women.
Montgomery County (PA) District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman re-opened the investigation into Costand’s claims earlier this year.
Under Pennsylvania’s 12-year statute of limitations for felony sex crimes, Ferman and her office had until January to build a case against Cosby.
If convicted, the comedian could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.
Currently, Cosby is also under investigation in Los Angeles for allegedly molesting a model named Chloe Goins during a party at the Playboy mansion in 2008.
Cosby and his lawyers have yet to publicly address the first formal charges against him.