Norristown: A judge refused to throw out the sexual assault case against Bill Cosby on Wednesday, sweeping aside a former district attorney’s claim that he granted the comedian immunity from prosecution a decade ago.
Common Pleas Judge Steven O’Neill issued the ruling after a hard-fought two-day hearing, saying witness credibility was a factor. He did not elaborate.
In another setback for the defence, the judge also denied a defense request to disqualify newly elected Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele from the case. Cosby’s lawyers had accused Steele of making a “political football” out of Cosby during the campaign.
Cosby, 78, was arrested in December and charged with drugging and violating former Temple Unive-rsity athletic department employee Andrea Const-and at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. The TV star could get up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
