Bill Cosby Attacked By Topless Protestor Just Moments Before Retrial
The retrial for Bill Cosby’s sexual assault case is already off to an interesting start. A woman wearing no shirt attacked the disgraced comedian.
Woman Ambushes Bill Cosby
Cosby was heading for the courthouse in Philadelphia Monday, April 9, when a topless woman charged toward him. The woman, who had "Women’s Lives Matter" written in red ink on her skin, made her way over a blockade and lunged at Cosby.
While she didn’t get close enough to touch him, it didn’t take long for an officer to step in and remove the woman from the area in handcuffs. Cosby reportedly looked startled by the incident. Still, she was just one of a number of protesters outside of the courthouse.
People took a stand against Cosby as the first day of his high-profile retrial begins. While jurors couldn’t agree on a unanimous decision during his first trial last year, it has been speculated that this time around would be much different.
Does Cosby Stand A Chance?
Cosby’s new lawyer as well as strategy to profile the accuser, Andrea Constand, as a woman who tried to extort Cosby, are said to be new factors that could weigh in his favor. Constand is one of the latest to accuse Cosby of sexual assault. She said he drugged and assaulted her while at his home back in 2004. More than a total of 50 women have come forward and accused Cosby of similar actions.
While the defense has a potentially good case, another new factor this year is the #MeToo movement. Dozens of women in Hollywood have accused men of power of sexual assault and misconduct. Men like former Today host Matt Lauer and movie executive Harvey Weinstein have certainly had a fall from grace amid the allegations.
How The Prosecution Could Win
Kristen Houser of the National Sexual Violence Resource Center said the movement could help prosecutors sway jurors to convict Cosby. Prosecutors are also allowed to bring five more of Cosby’s accusers to testify against him. Model Janice Dickinson is one of those women.
“This one will be harder for the defense,” said Los Angeles Loyola Law School professor Laurie Levenson.
She also noted that Constand has a number of women to back her up and said, “there is strength in numbers.”
Still, Cosby’s legal team will also reportedly accuse the other witnesses of being after fame and money with their allegations against him.
The presiding Judge Steven ONeill could permit Cosby’s deposition in which he admitted to giving women Quaaludes before sexual encounters into the court. O’Neill could also allow the question of how much Cosby paid Constand to settle her lawsuit against him after the incident to be asked during the retrial.
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