The criminal case against Bill Cosby lacks real evidence and is nothing more than a money grab by the accuser who has very little credibility, according to a bombshell lawsuit filed by former Montgomery County (Pa.) District Attorney Bruce Castor.
The former prosecutor took the unusual step of suing former Temple University employee Andrea Constand, who claimed Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her in 2004.
Castor said Constand defamed him in public comments and used a hotly contested election to persuade current District Attorney Kevin Steele to pursue chargers against the legendary comedian.
In June, a jury in the criminal trial against Cosby could not agree on a verdict and Steele immediately said he’d try the case again.
A retrial is set for April.
On Jan. 13, 2005, Constand first reported to Canadian police that Cosby assaulted her one year earlier. However, Castor notes in the suit that “Constand reported the alleged assault after she had already reached out to two Philadelphia personal injury lawyers.”
Castor said multiple experienced law enforcement officials from Canada, the Cheltenham Township (Pa.) Police Department and Montgomery County detectives performed “highly detailed investigations,” which included several interviews and obtaining a personal statement from Constand.
After reviewing the evidence and other materials, Castor asked local detectives to travel to Canada to try and reconcile the many inconsistencies in Constand’s statements.
“Regrettably, as this investigation unfolded, it became apparent that Constand, [with her lawyers, who are also named in Castor’s lawsuit], had made multiple irreconcilably inconsistent and far-reaching statements to various investigating authorities regarding many material aspects of her accusations against Cosby,” Castor said.
Castor, who lost a 2015 bid against Steele to return as District Attorney, listed several critical inconsistencies from Constand including when the alleged assault occurred, whether she had ever had sexual contact with Cosby prior to the night of the incident, whether she had ever been alone with Cosby before she claimed he assaulted her and whether she had been alone drinking wine and cognac in front of a fireplace with the comedian.
During the criminal trial, Cosby’s attorneys highlighted those inconsistencies as well as others that Castor has listed, including the flirtatious behavior and multiple gifts Constand and Cosby exchanged during their relationship and how Constand accepted an invite from the star to meet him at the Foxwood’s Casino in Connecticut where the two lay in bed together.
In a deposition, Cosby said he wasn’t interested in anything more than “petting” and “touching,” and that his intent was never to have sex with Constand.
He maintains that all contact with Constand was consensual.
Castor also highlighted that despite Constand’s statement that she and Cosby rarely spoke after the alleged assault, investigators discovered that the two had exchanged more than 70 phone calls — 53 of which Constand made — and the pair even enjoyed a dinner date after the incident.
Cosby had also arranged for Constand’s family to see him perform in Canada in December 2004 and Castor said her inconsistencies included whether she and her mother had illegally wiretapped Cosby and other witnesses which compromised the district attorney’s investigation.
“As a result of Constand’s marked inconsistencies, [Castor] declined to prosecute Cosby, and encouraged the parties to resolve the matter through a civil suit because a civil suit carries a much lower burden of proof than criminal prosecution,” Castor said.
The former district attorney acted in Constand’s best interest by making decisions that removed Cosby’s ability to assert the Fifth Amendment in the civil suit, Castor said.
“In short order, [Constand and her attorneys] took advantage of Castor’s remarkable resolution for Constand and filed their civil suit against Cosby, but not before attacking Castor, for among other things, allegedly failing to inform them of the resolution via a press release,” the lawsuit states.
Because of Castor’s actions, Constand and her team resolved the civil suit against Cosby for an amount believed to be well into the millions of dollars, Castor said.
However, as Steele ran for office and was in the public spotlight, Constand and her attorneys weren’t satisfied with the multi-million-dollar payout and went on a smear campaign against Castor in attempt to get Cosby convicted and to destroy Castor’s political career, Castor said.
“For example, [Constand’s lawyer] Delores Troiani publicly stated that she was furious with Castor for his refusal to prosecute Cosby, presumably because the Cosby litigation was going to propel Troiani and [her co-counsel] Bebe Kivitz into the spotlight,” Castor said in court filings.
Further, the suit says, “Castor’s well-reasoned decision to not prosecute Cosby, based upon their client’s marked inconsistencies and behavior, would, apparently, serve to compromise Troiani’s and Kivitz’s goals.”
Castor claims Constand and her lawyers assisted Steele and led the public to believe that he had carelessly overlooked the Cosby prosecution a decade earlier, thereby assisting Steele in making Castor’s decision not to prosecute the star a central issue in the campaign.
“Had Constand’s versions of the alleged assault and relevant events been consistent, Castor might have been able to prosecute Cosby,” Castor said. “Constand did tell multiple, irreconcilably inconsistent statements, which would have critically comprised any attempt to convict Cosby and she and her attorneys knew that, and they knew that additional evidence from Constand in her civil lawsuit made the Cosby prosecution that much weaker.”
