Bill Cosby Charged in Connection with Sexual Assault
As bad as things have been for Bill Cosby since numerous and well-publicized allegations of sexual misconduct against him began entering the public forum, he has not seen any criminal charges come of the uproar���until now.
On Wednesday, Bill Cosby was criminally charged in Pennsylvania for the first time in connection with the numerous sexual assaults he is accused of committing over a period of several decades. The case that brought about this initial charge concerns an allegation that he drugged and sexually attacked a woman in his home 12 years ago. As opposed to the civil suits he is facing, the criminal charge���as well as any others that may follow it���puts the 78-year-old entertainer, once so beloved by the public that he was affectionately known as ���America���s Dad,��� at risk of spending the rest of his life behind bars.
The case at hand concerns a former employee of Temple University, Cosby���s alma mater, by the name of Andrea Constand. According to prosecutors, Cosby drugged Constand and then penetrated her with his fingers. Cosby is specifically charged with aggravated indecent assault, which is punishable in PA by five to 10 years imprisonment and a $25,000 fine.
Cosby was charged just as the 12-year statute of limitations on the crime was set to run out. An added twist is that a previous allegation of Cosby���s assault on Constand was made several years ago, but the district attorney in office at that time did not feel as though there was enough compelling evidence to bring charges then. It was not until documents from a separate civil case brought against Cosby by Constand in 2006 were recently unsealed that further details came to light, which prompted the DA���s office to bring charges now.
