A criminal complaint filed against Bill Cosby on Tuesday includes a detailed and explicit account of his history with Andrea Constand, the woman accusing him of sexual assault.
The disturbing allegations are contained in an 18-page affidavit filed by police in suburban Philadelphia. Constand described taking pills Cosby gave her at his home in 2004, and told police that she soon she slipped into a drug-induced delirium during which Cosby fondled her and forcibly placed her hand on his penis.
The encounter ended with an awkward exchange after she awoke at 4 a.m., she said.
"Cosby gave her a muffin, walked to the front door, opened it and said 'Alright,'" according to the affidavit. "The victim told investigators she left without saying anything."
(Read the full complaint below.)
A Cheltenham Township sergeant and two Montgomery County detectives filed the affidavit to get an arrest warrant for the 78-year-old comedian. A judge approved the warrant and Cosby turned himself in on Wednesday to be arraigned on a single charge of second-degree aggravated indecent assault.
More than 50 women have come forward to accuse Cosby of indecent behavior ranging from unwanted kissing to rape and other forms of sexual abuse. Constand was one of the first to complain to law enforcement. She also sued Cosby, and in 2006 they finalized a settlement out of court.
This document provides a fuller picture of her accusations, including two occasions prior to the alleged assault when Cosby aggressively tried to initiate a sexual relationship with her. It also covers his denial to authorities, the decision by a previous Montgomery County district attorney not to file charges and the recent discovery of new evidence that reopened the case.
This is what Constand told police about Cosby, though it's only a small portion of the entire affidavit.
Constand met Cosby while she was the director of operations for the women's basketball team at Temple University, a college that Cosby vocally supported. After they met, Cosby contacted her "to discuss business-related matters," according to the affidavit.
They "developed what [Constand] believed to be a sincere friendship," the affidavit said. They socialized, with Cosby inviting her to his home, to restaurants and to other events. Constand, who is 37 years younger than Cosby, thought of him as a mentor who dispensed "guidance and career advice."
FIRST INCIDENT
She told authorities that "she had no interest whatsoever in a romantic relationship with Cosby," but there were two occasions before the alleged assault when he tried shifting their platonic relationship into something sexual.
A few months after they first met, Constand said, Cosby invited her to his home for a dinner cooked by his personal chef. After dinner, they were sitting on a sofa "when without warning, Cosby reached over and touched her pants, her waist and her inner thigh." Constand resisted and got up to leave, she said, and on her way out, Cosby gave her a bottle of perfume.
"She never thought he would hit on her, especially since Cosby is much older than her father," the affidavit said.
SECOND INCIDENT
That rejection didn't stop Cosby from making a second pass, the affidavit said. Constand was at Cosby's Cheltenham Township mansion and had drank "a couple glasses of wine…when 'out of the blue' Cosby unbuttoned her pants and began touching her." Constand thwarted him this time as well, and departed soon afterward. As with the first incident, they didn't discuss Cosby's overtures.
Despite these encounters, Constand told authorities that she still trusted Cosby and that they continued to socialize at parties and professional functions.
THIRD INCIDENT — THE ALLEGED ASSAULT
Cosby once again invited Constand to dinner at his home sometime between mid-January and mid-February of 2004, she told police. He told her that they would talk about her career, and "Cosby added that no one else would be present and that she should dress in comfortable clothing."
Constand found Cosby "dressed in a sweat suit" when she arrived at 8:45 p.m., she told police. They sat near the entrance of his home and talked about her career, she said, and she told him that "felt drained and emotionally occupied."
After Cosby told her that he "wanted her to relax," he briefly stepped away and returned with three blue pills.
"These will make you feel good," he said, according to the affidavit. "These blue things will take the edge of." Constand asked if they were herbal and he claimed that they were.
"Down them. Put 'em down. Put them in your mouth," he allegedly said.
She allegedly told Cosby that she trusted him, so she swallowed the pills with a swig of water. He then urged her to have some wine, and though she initially protested, saying she hadn't eaten anything, she took a few sips from the glass, she told police.
Within 20 to 30 minutes, she said, "she began experiencing blurred vision and difficulty speaking." Cosby helped her get to a couch, where he told her to lie down and relax. But by this point, the mystery pills and the wine had apparently incapacitated her, according to her statement. Her legs were "rubbery" and "like jelly," she felt nauseated and things looked blurry. "She could not keep her eyes open, was not aware of any sounds, had no sense of time, and was 'in and out,'" the report said.
Cosby allegedly assaulted Constand while she was in this impaired state.
"Despite her physical and mental condition, the victim was aware that Cosby was fondling her breasts, put his hand into her pants and penetrated her vagina with his fingers," the report said. "Cosby also took the victim's hand and placed it onto his erect penis."
Constand told authorities that she didn't consent, but "was unable to move or speak during the assault." She said later that she was "frozen" and "paralyzed."
Hours later, she woke up inside Cosby's home, according to the statement. "She discovered that her sweater was bunched up and that her bra was undone and had been moved above her breasts," the affidavit said.
This is when Cosby, then dressed in a robe, offered her a muffin and escorted her to the front door, according to the affidavit.
THE ACCUSATION
Soon after the attack, in March 2004, Constand moved away from Philadelphia and returned to live with her parents in Canada.
Without knowing what had happened, her mother Gianna Constand noticed changes in Constand's personality. She isolated herself from her friends, her mother later told authorities, and her sleep was marred by nightmares and even screaming.
Nearly a year passed before Constand confided in her mother in January 2005 about the alleged sexual assault. Gianna Constnad said she tried confronting Cosby through a phone call, but was unable to reach him. Soon after that, the Constands contacted the Durham Regional Police Service in Ontario, Canada.
In a phone call with Constand's mother, Cosby allegedly fully admitted to the assault, her mother told police. Constand's mother also recalled that Cosby apologized and offered to pay for therapy, according to the affidavit. On another call, which Glenna Constand said she recorded, Cosby offered to financially help her daughter pay for her education. She said Cosby deflected questions about what drug he gave to Constand during this conversation.
But when local law enforcement launched an investigation into Constand's claims, Cosby countered by saying he'd had a consensual, nonintercourse encounter with her. Authorities chose not to pursue a criminal case, so Constand sued. Her civil case files indicated there were 13 other women offering descriptions of similar encounters with Cosby.
But she and Cosby settled out of court and her charges were largely forgotten by the public. That changed in October 2014 when a viral video showing comedian Hannibal Buress ridiculing Cosby during a stand-up appearance in Philadelphia breathed new life into the allegations and encouraged dozens of other women to reveal that they, too, were allegedly victims of one of America's comedy icons.
Cosby's attorney, Monique Pressley, said in a statement that she was not surprised to see her client charged with a crime, because the case came up frequently during the recent campaign for district attorney. The election was won by Kevin Steele, currently an assistant district attorney who announced the charges today.
"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," Pressley said in a statement.
Constand's lawyer, Dolores Troiani, released the following statement on Wednesday after Cosby was charged:
On behalf of our client, Andrea Constand we wish to express our appreciation to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, the County Detectives and the Cheltenham Police Department for the consideration and courtesy they have shown Andrea during this difficult time. We have the utmost confidence in Mr. Steele, Ms. Feden and their team, who have impressed us with their professionalism. In that this matter is now being pursued in the criminal justice system, we will not comment further.
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