Last week, the long-awaited Bill Cosby sexual assault trial got underway, and the world looked on in anticipation of the disgraced TV legend finally answering for the dozens of rape and sexual harassment allegations against him.
After initially stating that Cosby would not testify, his lawyers changed course and stated that he likely would take the stand on his own behalf.
But today, in a bizarre twist, Cosby’s defense team rested its case after just six minutes, and the 79-year-old alleged predator was never called to the stand.
Instead Cosby’s lawyers called just one repeat witness to the stand for further questioning and left it to the jury to decide if accusations made by Andrea Constand are truthful are not.
Cosby himself read a sworn statement informing the court that he would not be testifying, but believed that he would be vindicated by the facts presented by his lawyers.
Again, those would be the facts that his crack legal team presented in six minutes.
It’s possible that the decision not to have Cosby testify was motivated by the fact that the jury has already heard his side of the story – and it wasn’t exactly helpful to his cause:
Statements made to police in 2005 and transcripts from a 2006 legal deposition were both read in court.
In both, Cosby describes the woman he allegedly victimized in a cold, detached fashion, describing his likes and dislikes in a way that’s likely to send a shiver up your spine or trigger a violent bout of nausea:
“We began to pet. Touching and kissing with clothes on,” Cosby said under oath, describing what he says was a consensual sexual encounter with Constand.
“I never intended to have full intercourse, like naked bodies, with Andrea … I don’t like it. I like the petting, the touching.”
Like we said, not exactly the type of stuff that endears you to a jury a of your peers.
Cosby stands accused of drugging and raping Constand after meeting her at an event at Temple University in 2004.
If he’s convicted, he could be sentenced to up to ten years behind bars.
We’ll have further updates on this developing story as more information becomes available.
