Bill Cosby Prosecutor Says Actor Paid Sexual Assault Accuser $3.38M To Stop Lawsuit In 2006
Bill Cosby paid Andrea Constand $3.38 million to end the sexual assault lawsuit she filed against him in 2005.
Cosby, Constand's Previous Settlement
It's the first time the 2006 settlement has been admitted in public. The state prosecutors divulged the details of the confidential agreement between the two parties during the opening statement of Cosby's criminal retrial last Monday, April 9.
According to New York Times, Cosby's lawyers agreed to reveal the confidential payment in court during the pretrial discussions. The actor's legal team is likely to highlight the woman's financial motive in filing sexual assault charges against Cosby.
Constand is accusing the television star of drugging and molesting her in his Philadelphia home in 2004.
Cosby has previously admitted giving her pills and having sexual intercourse with her, but he says the pills were just Benadryl to help her relax and the sexual encounter was consensual.
Witness Developments For The Retrial
One of the defense witnesses expected to take the stand is Marguerite Jackson, 56, who is an academic adviser at Temple University. Constand allegedly told her that she can make money by falsely accusing a prominent person of molestation.
During the first trial, Jackson was not allowed to testify, because Constand says she doesn't know her, but two former Temple University employees came forward to say that the two women do know each other.
Judge Steven T. O'Neill is also allowing the prosecuting team to bring five women to testify their similar experiences with Cosby to present a signature pattern. Former supermodel Janice Dickinson is one of the accusers expected to testify.
"You will have an understanding of a common plan, scheme or design of the defendant," Kevin R. Steele, Montgomery County district attorney, addresses the jurors during the retrial. "And when this happened with Andrea Constand, there was no mistake."
In the original trial, only one accuser apart from Constand was allowed to take the stand.
Cosby's first trial resulted in a hung jury.
Cosby's Former Costar Protests In The Nude
There were a number of protesters outside the courthouse for the retrial, but most notable is Nicolle Rochelle, an actress who appeared in The Cosby Show when she was just 12 year sold.
Rochelle, now 38, jumped forward as Cosby walked up the courthouse, topless and the names of the actor's accusers written on her bare upper body. Deputy officers tackled her to the ground, then arrested her for disorderly conduct.
"The main goal was to make Cosby uncomfortable because that is exactly what he has been doing for decades to women, and to show him that the body can be aggressive and empowered," Rochelle says, according to a report from USA Today.
