Attorney Monique Pressley (second from left) says her client, comedian Bill Cosby, is innocent.
A lead attorney representing Bill Cosby said the felony sexual assault charge filed against the comedian Wednesday is the result of "political football."
"My client is not guilty," Monique Pressley told Savannah Guthrie on TODAY Thursday. "And there will be no consideration on our part of any sort of arrangement."
Cosby was charged Wednesday with aggravated indecent assault, a felony of the second-degree. The embattled comedian is currently free on bail after having turned in his passport and paying 10 percent in cash of a $1 million bail.
A preliminary hearing was set for Jan. 14. If convicted of the felony charges, Cosby faces up to 10 years in jail and would have to register as a sex offender.
Pressley said Cosby has been "accused unjustly of a crime so that's upsetting," but that the comedian is in "good spirits" and "he knows that he has a legal team that's intent on defending him until he's exonerated."
In the criminal affidavit, Andrea Constand said that while working as the director of Temple University's women's basketball team in 2004, she was invited to Cosby's home to discuss her future. The affidavit says that during the visit, Cosby gave Constand pills, which left her feeling "frozen" and "paralyzed," at which time she was sexually molested by Cosby. Cosby insists that the sexual contact was consensual.
"Upon examination of all of the evidence, today we are able to seek justice on behalf of Mr. Cosby's victim," Montgomery County District Attorney-elect Kevin Steele said in a news conference Wednesday.
Montgomery County prosecutors used Cosby's own words from a 2005 deposition to bring about the charges filed Wednesday.
"If you look at the deposition you will see that there is no admission of criminal wrongdoing with respect to Mr. Cosby," Pressley said.
Civil rights lawyer Gloria Allred, who represents 29 women who allege Cosby assaulted them, said that her clients are "very happy" that Constand will "have her day in court."
"That's so important because, for most of the many, many alleged victims that I represent, if not all, they are barred by that statute of limitations, by that arbitrary time limit set by law."
Allred also said that many of the women she represents are prepared to testify in court if the prosecution calls on them.
"If in fact the prosecutor feels that some of the descriptions by my clients are the same or similar acts as are alleged in the charges against Mr. Cosby, many of my clients have already indicated that they will be prepared to testify in the criminal case if their testimony would be considered relevant and admissible," she said.
In a statement given to NBC News, Cosby's attorneys suggested the charges were motivated by local politics and "came as no surprise."
"We intend to mount a vigorous defense against this unjustified charge and we expect that Mr. Cosby will be exonerated by a court of law."
Fifty-seven women in total have accused Cosby of some form of sexual misconduct (not all the accusations are of sexual assault).
Cosby and his reps have repeatedly denied all allegations, even filing defamation lawsuits against nine of his accusers in recent weeks. Prior to Wednesday, Cosby had never been charged with any crime regarding the allegations.
'Blind' Bill Cosby is innocent, attorney Monique Pressley claims as she blasts public and media for fueling disdain for fallen funnyman: 'My client is NOT guilty'
Bill Cosby still thinks he has supporters.
“Friends and fans, Thank You,” the disgraced comic tweeted Thursday night.
Cosby, charged with aggravated indecent assault for an alleged 2004 attack, does have at least one person left in his corner — his lawyer.
The shamed comedian is innocent — and also blind — attorney Monique Pressley stated in interviews on Thursday, one day after the 78-year-old was charged with aggravated indecent assault for an alleged 2004 attack.
Bill Cosby Tweeted "Friends and fans, Thank You." on Thursday December 31, 2015. Credit - @BillCosby via Twitter
"My client is not guilty, and there will be no consideration on our part of any sort of arrangement," Pressley said on NBC's "Today."
Pressley, speaking with Savannah Guthrie, blamed the media and court of public opinion for swirling criticism about the fallen funnyman.
"The court of law doesn't run like the media does," Pressley said. "Any person who has a picture or a story or something that they'd like to say, if they're saying it about the right person, and Bill Cosby is the right person to say something about, then they can air that grievance, and have been doing so for the past year."
Pressley later discussed her client's health on "CBS This Morning." Cosby carried a cane and tripped on a sidewalk when walking to court Wednesday.
"His current health status doesn't have anything to do with the defense for this unsubstantiated charge," she said. "His current health status is that he's a 78-year-old blind man who they've chosen to be charged. That's not a defense of a crime, that's just a fact."
Pressley told Guthrie that Cosby is the victim of “a game of political football,” because newly elected Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele had promised to bring charges against the comedian during his campaign.
Constand declined to comment when reached by the Daily News Wednesday but asked people to withhold their judgments in a Twitter post early Thursday.
“Let’s all stay classy plz! That includes anybody who may be inserting their opinion as to whether anything was fully investigated period,” she tweeted.
Now 42 and a massage therapist in the Toronto area, Constand was working with the Temple University women’s basketball program at the time of her alleged assault.
She told police Cosby gave her some “herbal” medication and wine to relax and then assaulted her once her legs turned “rubbery” and everything became “blurry,” according to the criminal complaint.
Cosby admitted during a police interview in January 2005 that he fondled her breasts and vagina but described the incident as consensual, the new criminal complaint states.
Andrea Constand claimed a decade ago that Cosby drugged and assaulted her.
Constand later sued Cosby in federal court and settled in 2006. His civil deposition was confidential at first, but damaging sections surfaced over the summer — including testimony in which Cosby admitted buying Quaaludes to give to women before sex.
The new evidence played a “significant” role in the charging decision, Steele said Wednesday.
Authorities had until January to file charges against Cosby under the state’s 12-year statute of limitations.
“There will be no admission of criminal wrongdoing, with respect to Mr. Cosby,” Pressley said Thursday.
Cosby, who was released Wednesday on $1 million bail, faces up to a decade behind bars if convicted.
Bill Cosby's Lawyer Monique Pressley Has 'Faith in Justice System'
By MICHAEL ROTHMAN Dec 31, 2015, 10:34 AM ET
Bill Cosby was charged yesterday with aggravated indecent assault stemming from an incident that allegedly took place in Pennsylvania more than a decade ago between the comedian and his accuser Andrea Constand.
After a press conference to announce the charges, Cosby, 78, appeared in court in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, followed by a processing at the Cheltenham Police Department. He was released on $1 million bail. Cosby will next appear in court on Jan. 14.
This morning, Cosby's attorney Monique Pressley is speaking out about the case and her client.
"I expect now that all of those things will get ferreted out in a court of law and I have faith in the justice system," she told "Good Morning America," adding that the original case from 2005 between Cosby and Constand was eventually settled out of court. The DA for Montgomery County at the time chose not to press criminal charges.
Pressley said the decision not to charge Cosby back in 2005 was the very reason that "led my client into a civil process where he testified because he believed that there was no thought whatsoever, no possibility, of him being charged criminally."
In 2005, Constand claimed that Cosby invited her to his home and that on one occasion in 2004 he gave her pills and wine, which made her unresponsive. At that point, Cosby allegedly sexually assaulted Constand.
The comedian's reps also touched on the 2005 deposition that surfaced this past summer after U.S. District Judge Eduardo Robreno unsealed the document. Cosby admitted to giving Quaaludes to a woman with whom he wanted to have sex, according to the paperwork.
Pressley couldn't give specifics about Cosby's defense strategy or discuss the deposition. She did say that "your network, and every other network in America right now, has that deposition so you know that those two things don’t go together and that he was very specific about what he said about this particular case and that he did admit to having available to him, 40 years earlier, the drug Quaaludes, which was at the time a legal drug, and that he offered to two women who took it consensually, did not sneak and give it to them, did not hide it and use it intentionally in order to incapacitate them. So the two issues have nothing to do with each other and our defense where this case is concerned will be clear."
Cosby has always maintained his innocence since being accused by Constand and dozens of other women of sexual assault.
Pressley responded to comments that the comedian looked frail when he showed up for his arraignment.
"I don’t really understand it. He’s a tall man of sufficient girth. He’s 78 years old, and blind, so he does use a cane so that he can know what’s coming in front of him and he does require assistance because of that and that is who the DA’s office has chosen to charge in this case," she said.
She continued: "That’s his status now, 12 years later, but he is in good spirits and he has confidence in his legal team’s ability to bring about justice for him in this case."
If convicted, Cosby faces up to 10 years in jail and a $25,000 fine.
Below is what was released from the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: DECEMBER 30, 2015
COSBY CHARGED WITH AGGRAVATED INDECENT ASSAULT
Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman and Cheltenham Township Police Chief John J. Norris announce the filing of criminal charges against William H. Cosby stemming from the sexual assault of a victim that occurred on an evening in early 2004 at Cosby’s residence in Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County. Cosby is charged with Aggravated Indecent Assault, which is a Felony of the Second Degree.
The charges filed today are a result of new information that came to light beginning in July 2015. After determining the statute of limitations regarding the potential criminal offense had not yet expired, an investigation was reopened. The statute of limitation for aggravated indecent assault is twelve years from the incident.
“A prosecutor’s job is to follow the evidence wherever it leads and whenever it comes to light,” said First Assistant District Attorney Kevin R. Steele, in announcing the charges. “Upon examination of all of the evidence, today we are able to seek justice on behalf of Mr. Cosby’s victim.”
According to the affidavit, the victim was a guest of Cosby at his home located at 8210 New Second Street in Cheltenham on the night of the incident. In the course of the evening, Cosby provided the victim with wine and three blue pills. At Cosby’s urging, the victim ingested wine and water along with the blue pills. Shortly thereafter, the victim became incapacitated, and Cosby led her to a couch. The victim lay down on the couch, and Cosby positioned himself behind her. Cosby then fondled the victim’s breasts, put his hands inside her pants, and penetrated her vagina with his fingers. During the assault, Cosby also put her hand on his erect penis. The victim did not consent to any of these acts and reported that she was unable to move or speak and felt “frozen” and “paralyzed.”
Within a few months of the incident, the victim moved back to her native Canada where she resided with her mother. In January 2005, the victim disclosed to her mother for the first time what Cosby had done to her. The victim and her mother reported the incident to local Canadian authorities who, in turn, notified authorities in Pennsylvania. On January 22, 2005 the victim gave a statement to the police indicating what had happened to her, including the vaginal penetration by Cosby. The initial investigation into this incident was reviewed by the former District Attorney and resulted in the February 17, 2005, announcement that no criminal charges were forthcoming.
On July 6, 2015, U.S. District Judge Eduardo Robreno, pursuant to a motion from the Associated Press, unsealed certain legal filings that contained references to a deposition by Cosby in a civil case. Judge Robreno released materials in part because Cosby has a diminished privacy interest and this diminished interest is outweighed by the public interest in gaining access to his deposition testimony. The release of these documents in July and the subsequent release of Cosby’s deposition caused the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office to reopen the case. After reviewing the initial investigation, re-interviewing some witnesses, examining other evidence in the civil case and information from other alleged victims, it was determined that the evidence warranted the filing of criminal charges against Cosby.
Cosby is expected to be arraigned later this afternoon before Magisterial District Judge Elizabeth McHugh. Judge McHugh’s Court is located at Station Mews, 7804 Montgomery Avenue in Elkins Park.
Anyone with information regarding similar incidents with Cosby is asked to contact the Montgomery County Detective Bureau at 610-278-3368.
Approved for release:
Kevin R. Steele
CRIMINAL CHARGES, AND ANY DISCUSSION THEREOF, ARE MERELY ALLEGATIONS AND ALL DEFENDANTS ARE PRESUMED INNOCENT UNTIL AND UNLESS PROVEN GUILTY.
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