Cosby's sexual assault trial enters second week

[April 16, 2018]  NORRISTOWN, Pa. (Reuters) - Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial is set to resume Monday, with the defense team expected to resume its scathing cross-examination of his accuser, casting her as a gold-digging con artist.

Andrea Constand, 45, claims the 80-year-old comedian drugged and raped her more than a decade ago. She has previously accepted a $3.38 million civil settlement from Cosby and signed a non-disclosure agreement.

Cosby, who played the kindly patriarch on "The Cosby Show" has denied the accusations and has said any sexual contact was consensual.

This is the second time that Constand has confronted Cosby in the suburban Philadelphia courtroom. The jury in the first trial was unable to reach a verdict in June.

Constand is one of about 50 women who have accused the entertainer of assaults dating back decades. Hers is the only one recent enough to be the subject of criminal prosecution.

Five of his other accusers have testified in this trial.

Constand said she only accepted the monetary settlement after a Montgomery County prosecutor declined to charge Cosby when she complained in 2005.

She said she was initially afraid to come forward and that was devastated by the initial decision to not prosecute.

Constand testified the attack occurred while she was visiting Cosby at his Philadelphia area home to discuss leaving her job as director of operations for the women's basketball team at Temple University, Cosby's alma mater.

Actor and comedian, Bill Cosby, walks towards the courtroom after a break during the fourth day of his sexual assault retrial case at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania, U.S., April 12, 2018. Mark Makela/Pool via Reuters/File Photo

Cosby gave her three blue pills that he said would relax her, she said.

She testified that the pills made her feel woozy. She said she later awoke while Cosby was touching her breasts, her vagina and that he used her hand to stroke his penis while she was not able to resist.

Cosby could face 10 years in prison if convicted.

(Reporting by David DeKok; Writing by Rich McKay; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.