A third accuser took the stand Wednesday in comedian Bill Cosby's sexual assault retrial, at one point directly addressing Cosby from the witness stand.
"You remember, don't you, Mr. Cosby?" said Chelan Lasha, who alleges that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her in 1986 when she was a teenager. Lasha testified through tears that she met Cosby in a Las Vegas hotel room because he said he'd arrange a photo shoot for her, and she was an aspiring model. After a photographer did in fact take some pictures, Lasha said Cosby gave her a combination of drugs and alcohol that rendered her immobile, after which he initiated unwanted sexual contact including touching her breast and "humping" her leg.
Lasha's testimony comes after Andrea Constand, the primary plaintiff, and former aspiring actress Heidi Thomas have already taken the stand. Cosby is being tried for sexual assault charges, after his original trial ended with a hung jury last June. Jurors could not unanimously agree on whether to convict him of charges that the comedian drugged and sexually assaulted Constand in 2004.
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In total, five additional accusers aside from Constand will testify against Cosby this time around, out of dozens of women who have publicly claimed misconduct by the comedian. Lasha testified that she woke up about 12 hours after taking the drug, and claimed that Cosby threatened her to stay silent after the assault.
Cosby has denied all the allegations against him. After Lasha's outburst in court, Cosby smiled, The Daily Beast reports, and the jury was instructed to ignore Lasha's comment. Cosby's attorneys moved for mistrial after the remark, but the judge denied the motion.
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