Bill Cosby files motion to dismiss criminal case again

07 Oct 2016 |

Embattled actor Bill Cosby is seeking to have his aggravated indecent assault case dismissed again.The Cosby Show veteran is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting former Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his home in Pennsylvania in 2004.He was not charged at the time of the incident and maintains his innocence, but he faced questioning in 2005 and 2006 as part of Constand's civil suit, which was subsequently settled out of court.

The case was reopened last year (15) after the actor's sealed deposition was made public, revealing Cosby had confessed to buying sedatives to give to women he wanted to sleep with and had had extramarital affairs.He was arrested and charged in December (15), and during a pre-trial hearing last month (Sep16), Montgomery County Judge Steven O'Neill ordered the case to go to trial no later than 5 June (17).

Cosby is now seeking again to have the case dismissed and his lawyers have filed a motion arguing a Montgomery County district attorney pledged not prosecute Cosby in 2005. "When a defendant is prejudiced by the government's delay in bringing charges, 'the absence of valid reasons to justify the late filing of charges will mandate the trial court' to dismiss those charges," a press release from Cosby's lawyers reads.

More than 50 women have come forward with decades-old accusations of inappropriate behaviour, drugging and/or rape against Cosby since late 2014. The statute of limitations has expired in almost all of the cases, preventing the alleged victims from pursuing criminal charges.The embattled comedian has denied all allegations, and his legal team tried and failed on numerous occasions to have his current assault charges dismissed.