Comedian Bill Cosby has filed a motion to dismiss all charges of sexual assault against him and disqualify the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office from his case.
In the motion, filed Monday, Cosby states the sexual assault charges against him were “illegally, improperly and unethically brought” by Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele and his office.
“The charges brought on December 30, 2015 violate an express agreement made by the Montgomery County District Attorney in 2005, in which the Commonwealth agreed that Mr. Cosby would never be prosecuted with respect to the allegations of sexual assault made by complainant Andrea Constand,” the motion states. “This agreement, made for the express purpose of inducing Mr. Cosby to testify fully in Ms. Constand’s civil litigation against him, led Mr. Cosby to give deposition testimony in 2005 and 2006 without invocation of his Constitutional rights against self-incrimination.”
Cosby's defense lawyers accused Steele of not honoring the agreement in order to “fulfill campaign promises" and for playing politics with the case to win the Montgomery County District Attorney election.
The charges against Cosby stem from an alleged attack at his suburban Philadelphia home 12 years ago. They are the first criminal counts brought against him among a torrent of allegations from dozens of women.
Steele accused Cosby of rendering Constand, a former Temple University employee, “"frozen, paralyzed, unable to move" by plying her with pills and wine, then penetrating her with his fingers when she was unconscious or unaware of what was happening. The alleged attack occurred at Cosby's suburban Philadelphia home in early 2004.
“The charges should separately be dismissed on due process grounds because the over a decade delay in bringing these charges, by a District Attorney's office with subpoena power capable of obtaining Mr. Cosby's deposition testimony since it was given ten years ago, was inexcusable and has greatly prejudiced Mr. Cosby's ability to defend himself,” Monday’s motion states.
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Cosby requested that the Court disqualify Steele from any further involvement in the prosecution due to his “intentional breach of the Commonwealth’s non-prosecution agreement, and due to repeated violations of ethical rules.”
NBC10 reached out to Steele for comment. We have not yet heard back.
The case against Cosby comes after more than a year of mounting accusations against him over his conduct with women, which his team has furiously denied. The Pennsylvania charges – filed days before the statute of limitations would have expired – set the stage for perhaps the biggest Hollywood celebrity trial so far this decade and could send the 78-year-old to prison in the twilight of his life and barrier-breaking career. He is due in court Feb. 2 for a preliminary hearing.
