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 Judge Steven O'Neill rejected Cosby's arguments that
prosecutors violated his rights by refusing to call the accuser,
Andrea Constand, as a witness at a preliminary hearing in May,
thus shielding her from cross-examination.
"This case shall proceed to trial on those counts," O'Neill said
at the conclusion of a three-hour hearing in the Montgomery
County Court of Common Pleas.
Once one of the most beloved U.S. entertainers thanks to his
family-friendly persona, Cosby is facing accusations of sexual
assault from dozens of women stretching back decades.
Constand's allegations that Cosby assaulted her at his home in
2004 have resulted in the only criminal prosecution against him,
as most of the other claims involve incidents that are too old
to produce charges.
Cosby, who wore a pinstriped tan jacket and used a cane to walk
on Thursday, has denied assaulting anyone and has portrayed the
encounter with Constand as consensual.
"Today someone who has given so much to so many had his
constitutional rights trampled once again," said Brian McMonagle,
a lawyer for Cosby, after O'Neill's ruling.
Thursday's proceeding stemmed from a preliminary hearing in May
to determine whether enough evidence existed to hold Cosby over
for trial.
At that hearing, prosecutors chose not to call Constand as a
witness. Instead, two police detectives who took her statement
in 2005 testified as to what she told them at the time.
Christopher Tayback, one of Cosby's lawyers, said prosecutors
were using "hearsay evidence" improperly, robbing Cosby of his
constitutional right to confront his accuser while relying on an
11-year-old statement plagued with inconsistencies.
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"It's a statement that on its face begs more questions than it
answers," he said.
Cosby's lawyers said the case should be dismissed or, in the
alternative, Constand should be ordered to testify at a new
preliminary hearing and face cross-examination.
But prosecutors said current case law allows the use of hearsay at
preliminary hearings, even though the issue is pending before the
Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
District Attorney Kevin Steele told O'Neill his office did not want
to "re-traumatize victims" by requiring them to testify about their
assaults multiple times.
"They're saying they want to confront the witness?" Steele told
reporters following the hearing. "Let's go to trial and confront the
witness. We want to get this case in front of a jury, and he can
have a jury of his peers decide if he's guilty."
Thursday's hearing offered a preview of the defense trial strategy,
which will likely focus on Constand and her credibility.
Constand, a former basketball coach at Cosby's alma mater Temple
University, has accused him of drugging her and then assaulting her
on a couch. Cosby has admitted giving her the allergy medication
Benadryl but maintained they engaged in consensual acts.
(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Richard Chang and Tom Brown)
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