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 Prosecutors in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, are expected
to outline some of the evidence against Cosby, 78, who had been
one of America's best-loved comedians before being hit by a wave
of sex assault allegations.
Tuesday's preliminary hearing in Norristown, Pennsylvania,
focuses on the only allegation that has led to criminal charges,
that Cosby in 2004 drugged and assaulted Andrea Constand, a
former basketball coach at his Temple University alma mater.
The vast majority of the sexual assault accusations by about 50
women dating back to the 1960s are too old to be the subject of
criminal prosecution. Pennsylvania prosecutors leveled their
charges in December, days before the statute of limitations was
to expire.
Several cases are the subject of civil lawsuits, in which
victims say Cosby libeled them when he accused them of lying
about the incidents.
Cosby has denied ever assaulting anyone and has portrayed his
encounter with Constand as consensual.
The accusations have destroyed Cosby's reputation, which he
built during years of family-friendly comedy.
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Last month, an appeals court rejected a bid from Cosby's lawyers to
have the criminal case dismissed because of what they described as a
non-prosecution agreement he struck with a former Montgomery County
district attorney a decade ago.
The former prosecutor, Bruce Castor, has said he agreed not to press
charges in exchange for Cosby's testimony in a civil lawsuit filed
by Constand.
But current prosecutors questioned Castor's testimony, saying there
was no written evidence of such a deal. They also said Castor did
not have the legal authority to prohibit his successors from
bringing charges in the future.
(Reporting by Joseph Ax in New York; Editing by Scott Malone and
Lisa Von Ahn)
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