Bill Cosby Case Goes To The Jury After The Defense Offers Evidence Of His Innocence

Bill Cosby awaits his fate, as closing arguments have concluded in his sexual assault retrial. The case is expected to be handed over to the jury on Wednesday. Cosby’s defense team insists the facts in the case reported to the media by the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office have been largely one-sided. They have accused DA Kevin Steele and his team of prosecutors of attempting to destroy their client’s reputation in order to make a name for themselves.

During a press conference, Cosby rep Ebonee Benson said that the Commonwealth’s case is fueled by “lies, greed, and political ambition.” Benson revealed that expert testimony from medical professionals proved that the “three small blue pills” which Cosby was said to have given to Constand were not quaaludes, as the prosecution has led the public to believe.

Benson also proffered that Constand has provided multiple sworn statements and police reports which are contradictory. The legal team detailed some 12 alleged inconsistencies in Constand’s varyious accounts of the nature of her relationship with Cosby and the allegations she has made against him.

USA Today reported that during closing arguments, Cosby attorneys Tom Mesereau and Kathleen Bliss asserted that the 45-year-old accuser consented to a sexual encounter and then attempted to extort Cosby. The defense said that the foundation of the prosecutor’s case was built on “flimsy, silly, ridiculous evidence.”

The team also offered phone logs and air travel records that they say proves that Cosby was not in the state of Pennsylvania at the time of the alleged January 2004 assault, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Judge Steven O’Neill, however, ruled that the private investigator who could corroborate this evidence would not be allowed to testify.

Judge O’Neill also declined to allow previous sworn testimony from Constand’s friend, Sheri Williams, taken during a 2005 deposition to be read into evidence. Cosby’s lawyers were unable to serve her with a subpoena, as her whereabouts are unknown.

Cosby has been charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison for each count. The judge has discretion under Pennsylvania law to run those sentences concurrently or consecutively. But Cosby’s team is confident that the truth was presented and that the jury of seven men and five women will vote in favor of their client.