Consent amid wine and pills to be a key question in Bill Cosby sexual assault charges

A jury may ultimately decide if that’s true after the 78-year-old actor was arrested Wednesday on felony assault charges in suburban Philadelphia stemming from a 2004 encounter with a former Temple University employee less than half his age.

The case marks the first time Cosby has been charged with sexual misconduct despite years of lurid allegations, and it sets the stage for perhaps the biggest Hollywood celebrity trial of the mobile-news era.

Prosecutors armed with new evidence this year believe his accuser, Andrea Constand, was too impaired by the pills and wine Cosby gave her to consent to the sexual activity that followed at his home.

Cosby gave a deposition after the woman sued him in 2005. He said she never told him to stop. But police now say that’s because she was “frozen,” ”paralyzed,” and “in and out of consciousness.”

“On the evening in question, Mr. Cosby urged her to take pills that he provided, and to drink wine, the effect of which rendered her unable to move or to respond to his advances,” incoming Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said at a news conference Wednesday morning.

Hours later, Cosby arrived at a small courthouse to be arraigned.

Holding a cane, Cosby walked slowly and unsteadily into court on the arms of his lawyers to answer the charges against him. He had no comment as he was released on $1 million bail.

“Make no mistake: We intend to mount a vigorous defense against this unjustified charge, and we expect that Mr. Cosby will be exonerated by a court of law,” his attorney Monique Pressley said in a statement.

The decision to prosecute came just days before Pennsylvania’s 12-year statute of limitations for bringing charges was set to run out. It represents an about-face by the district attorney’s office, which under a previous DA declined to charge Cosby in 2005 when Constand first told police that the comic put his hands down her pants.

Prosecutors said Cosby gave Constand pills and wine, then penetrated her with his fingers without her consent while she was impaired, unable to resist or cry out.

In court papers, they said Constand was given the cold medicine Benadryl or some other, unidentified substance. Steele noted that Cosby has admitted giving quaaludes to women he wanted to have sex with.

The former “Cosby Show” star and breaker of racial barriers was charged with aggravated indecent assault, punishable by five to 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine. He did not have to enter a plea.

Wearing a black-and-white hooded sweater, Cosby tripped on a curb as he made his way into court. Inside, he seemed to have trouble seeing the paperwork and finding the place to sign, and his lawyers helped him hold the pen. But he seemed at ease, laughing and chatting with his attorneys.

When the judge said, “Good luck to you, sir,” he shouted: “Thank you!”

Prosecutors reopened the case over the summer as damaging testimony was unsealed in Constand’s related civil lawsuit against Cosby and as dozens of other women came forward with similar accusations.

“Reopening this case was not a question. Rather, reopening this case was our duty as law enforcement officers,” said Steele, who is the top deputy in the DA’s office and will take over next week.

In court documents, prosecutors said there are probably other women who were similarly drugged and violated by Cosby. Steele urged them to come forward.

Constand, now 42, lives in Toronto and works as a massage therapist. Her attorney, Dolores Troiani, welcomed the charges.

“She feels that they believe her, and to any victim, that is foremost in your mind: Are people going to believe me?” Troiani said. The attorney added: “Naturally it is troubling that it took until the eleventh hour for this day to arrive. She is hopeful that her patience has encouraged other victims to come forward.”