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(NORRISTOWN, Penn.) — The judge in the Bill Cosby sexual assault trial read parts of the comedian’s decade-old deposition from a civil suit for more than 30 minutes on Tuesday, after jurors requested additional “context” as part of their deliberations.
They will decide if the comedian sexually assaulted accuser Andrea Constand in 2004.
According to depositions Cosby made in 2005 and 2006, he gave Constand Benadryl and admitted to having two sexual encounters with Constand. His depositions were graphic, describing “necking” “petting” and their “make out” sessions.
That civil suit was eventually settled out of court.
Cosby, who was charged by Montgomery County in 2015, faces 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine and would also be required to register as a sex offender if convicted.
Monday’s closing arguments from both sides concluded after six days of testimony. Cosby did not testify but his past deposition was read aloud in court. His accuser Constand, her mother, and another accuser, Kelly Johnson, took the stand.
Cosby, 79, has always denied giving Constand anything other than Benadryl on the night in question and has said that anything romantic that transpired between them was consensual.
“I wanted her to be comfortable and relaxed and be able to go to sleep after our necking session,” Cosby said in the 2005-2006 deposition.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele closed the prosecution’s case on Monday by describing Cosby as a calculating sexual predator, who not only drugged and assaulted Constand more than a decade ago, but also recast the attack as romantic.
Brian McMonagle, one of Cosby’s lawyers, also delivered a dramatic closing argument, highlighting Constand’s inconsistencies and those of Johnson, the other accuser who testified last week. The defense cited discrepancies in her recounting of the alleged incident
Cosby has denied any wrongdoing in other accusations.
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