Pennsylvania judge rules Bill Cosby's sexual assault case can move forward

Bill Cosby.
(Image credit: Pool/Getty Images)

A judge in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, ruled Wednesday that criminal sexual assault charges against Bill Cosby will stand and proceed to trial.

Former Temple University employee Andrea Constand alleges that in 2004, Cosby drugged and raped her in his Pennsylvania home. Cosby says the encounter was consensual. In court Wednesday, Cosby's attorneys argued that 11 years ago, the district attorney at the time, Bruce Castor, approved an immunity deal in an oral agreement, USA Today reports. Prosecutors said Cosby did not have a valid deal, and Castor has no credibility; Cosby's attorneys responded by arguing prosecutors often can and do make deals with defendants that are binding on future prosecutors.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.