Cosby says he has no plans for 'sexual
assault tour'
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[June 28, 2017]
By Dana Feldman and Joseph Ax
LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bill Cosby
said on Tuesday he has no plans to hold town hall events to discuss
sexual assault, days after his spokesman suggested the comedian planned
a series of public talks to educate men about how to avoid false
accusations.
Cosby's spokesman, Andrew Wyatt, first put forward the idea for the town
hall talks in an interview with a Birmingham, Alabama, TV station last
week, five days after Cosby's sex assault trial ended in a hung jury.
The proposal drew immediate criticism from a lawyer representing some of
the dozens of women who have leveled sex assault accusations at the
79-year-old entertainer, whose long career was built on a
family-friendly style of comedy.
"The current propaganda that I am going to conduct a sexual assault tour
is false," Cosby said in a statement released by Wyatt on Tuesday. "Any
further information about public plans will be given at the appropriate
time."
Wyatt said in the TV interview last week that Cosby, once known as
"America's dad" for his starring role in the 1980s TV hit "The Cosby
Show," planned to give free public appearances to address the dangers
that young men face.
On Tuesday, Wyatt said his comments were taken out of context and that
Cosby was still sifting through speaking invitations from civic
organizations and church groups.
After a Los Angeles court hearing related to a civil lawsuit by a woman
who has accused the comedian of sexual assault, Cosby attorney Angela
Agrusa told reporters there was a "lot of miscommunication" about
planned public appearances.
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![](../images/062817pics/news_L19.jpg)
Actor and comedian Bill Cosby departs after a judge declared a
mistrial in his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County
Courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania, U.S., June 17, 2017.
REUTERS/Charles Mostoller
![](../images/ads/current/richardson_lda_060817.png)
Cosby, she said, wants to perform again but is unlikely to do so until
all criminal charges are resolved. "He doesn't take lightly the charges
against him," she added.
Prosecutors in Pennsylvania plan to retry Cosby on charges that he
sexually assaulted Andrea Constand at his Philadelphia-area home in
2004.
Some 60 women have accused him of sex assault in a string of alleged
incidents dating back to the 1960s. The Pennsylvania case is the only
one to result in criminal prosecution.
Ten women are pursuing either sexual abuse or defamation lawsuits
against Cosby.
Two cases are headed for back-to-back trials in California next summer.
A Los Angeles judge on Tuesday set July 30, 2018, as the trial date for
a lawsuit brought by Judy Huth, who says Cosby gave her alcohol and then
sexually abused her at the Playboy mansion around 1974 when she was 15.
Another lawsuit, filed by former model Chloe Goins, is scheduled for
trial in June 2018.
(Writing by Joseph Ax; Editing by Scott Malone and Leslie Adler)
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