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 Cosby, 80, the once beloved comic and television star whose
appeal across generations and races lasted for decades, is
standing for his second criminal trial on allegations of
drugging and sexually assaulting a former friend and colleague,
Andrea Constand, in 2004.
Some 50 other women have made similar accusations but their
cases were too old to prosecute. Five of them are being
permitted to tell the jury their stories now, in a retrial
expected to last a month.
In the first trial, which ended in a mistrial due to a
deadlocked jury, only one other accuser besides Constand was
allowed to testify.
When Montgomery County Judge Steven O'Neill permitted five of
them to bolster the prosecution case, it was a major setback for
Cosby's defense team, which is fighting back with aggressive
cross-examination.
In three days of testimony so far, three of the women have told
stories of being drugged and sexually assaulted by Cosby in the
1980s, the decade when he became "America's Dad" by playing the
lovable Dr. Cliff Huxtable on "The Cosby Show." Constand will
likely tell a similar story of her 2004 encounter with Cosby.
Defense attorney Thomas Mesereau, who represented Michael
Jackson in his 2005 acquittal on child molestation charges, will
resume his cross-examination of former bartender Janice
Baker-Kinney.
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On Wednesday Mesereau honed in on Baker-Kinney's past drug use.
Baker-Kinney readily admitted using drugs at times and that she was
an alcoholic up until about age 38.
"I haven't had a drink or drug in more than 20 years," she said.
Baker-Kinney held firm against most of Mesereau's questioning,
though she choked up when speaking of her son's depression after his
father's death.
Co-counsel Kathleen Bliss took on two other accusers, bringing one
of them, aspiring actress Chelan Lasha, to tears for much of the
session while grilling her about inconsistencies between her
testimony and a statement she gave police.
Later, during a break in the action with the judge out of the
courtroom, Lasha spontaneously burst into sobs and began gasping
before recovering her composure.
Bliss also tried to skewer Heidi Thomas, an aspiring actress, about
the potentially career-boosting publicity she received after coming
forward with accusations against Cosby.
"OK," Thomas admitted, "I had a lot of attention."
(Reporting by David DeKok; writing by Daniel Trotta; Editing by
Cynthia Osterman)
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