Bill Cosby Won’t Take the Stand

Page Six
April 20, 2018

https://pagesix.com/2018/04/23/bill-cosby-wont-take-the-stand/

Bill Cosby

Bill Cosby will not be taking the stand in his own defense, he told the judge overseeing his sex assault retrial Monday before his lawyers rested their case.

Cosby, 80, faces three counts of aggravated indecent assault for the alleged drugging and molestation of former Temple University staffer Andrea Constand in his suburban Philadelphia home in January 2004.

The aged entertainer, wearing a tweed suit, remained seated as he confirmed to Judge Steven O’Neill that he had no intention of testifying, before his lawyers rested their defense.

“Yes, your honor,” he boomed as O’Neill reminded him of his right to either take or avoid the stand.

“And you’re not under the influence of any drugs, alcohol, or mind-altering medication that would impair your ability to make that determination?” the jurist asked.

“That is correct,” bellowed Cosby, puffing out his chest.

Closing statements are expected Tuesday morning. Wife Camille Cosby will attend, according to Cosby spokesman Andrew Wyatt.

Camille Cosby has been notably absent during the past 11 days of testimony. She attended only the defense closings during her husband’s first trial, last June.

That trial ended after jurors were unable to return a verdict.

Cosby’s defense this time around worked to portray Constand as a money-grubber who preyed on a “lonely” celebrity as she tried, and failed, to make it in sports broadcasting.

Their star witness was a former colleague of Constand’s from Temple, Margo Jackson, who testified that Constand once told her she could make up allegations against someone famous to “get money.”

The defense also called former and current employees of Cosby’s in an attempt to prove he was outside of Pennsylvania in January 2004.

For their case, prosecutors called an additional five women who’ve accused Cosby of sex assault — including supermodel Janice Dickinson — to try to prove the alleged attack on Constand was part of a pattern of predation dating back decades.