Althouse: "Bill Cosby has been charged with aggravated indecent assault in Pennsylvania..."

December 30, 2015

"Bill Cosby has been charged with aggravated indecent assault in Pennsylvania..."

"... the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office said Wednesday. The charge is a felony."

42 comments:

Etienne said...: Hee, everything's a felony now.

We used to bring guns to school when I was in high school. Every truck in the parking lot had a rifle in the rifle rack, and some of us would go kill a deer during lunch break. They was a large infestation when the county limited hunting permits for a few years.

My nephew got a 1 day suspension when they found a pocket knife during a random locker search. He went fishing with my brother, which was a better way to spend the day anyway, than with the baby sitters at the school.

Prosecutors all have dreams of higher office. More felonies, makes the grannies feel safe in their nursing homes.

When more people start voting than people in retirement homes, then things may get back to normal.

Although I suspect we went over the cliff already, and the only way back is a revolution. Luckily I'll be dead in a few years, and you fuckers will have to deal with it.; 12/30/15, 9:34 AM
AlbertAnonymous said...: There are two kinds of kids in the world. Those that build things with blocks and those that topple other kids' block towers.

There are two kinds of adults in the world. Those that build things and people up, and those that knock down other people and topple their things.

The "topplers" have been after Cosby for years. It was just a matter of time.

I wish the "topplers" would focus as hard on Hillary and Obama. They're doing much worse to many more people.; 12/30/15, 9:37 AM
MacMacConnell said...: The Attorney General of Arkansas was unavailable for comment.; 12/30/15, 9:38 AM
Ann Althouse said...: I predict he will be acquitted.; 12/30/15, 10:04 AM
MadisonMan said...: I assume the DA is up for re-election.; 12/30/15, 10:11 AM
eric said...: Someone with the initials BC is being brought up on sexual assault charges and its a black guy instead of a white guy with the same initials?

Black lives matter!; 12/30/15, 10:17 AM
garage mahal said...: Bu bu what about Hillary and Obama?????; 12/30/15, 10:19 AM
rhhardin said...: I can't guess what aggravated indecent assault is.; 12/30/15, 10:30 AM
Gahrie said...: I predict he will be found incompetent to be tried.; 12/30/15, 10:33 AM
steve uhr said...: Seems not quite fair to charge him 12 years after you declined to charge him for lack of evidence. They will try to put into the case evidence of other conduct and under the rules of evidence will prob be allowed to since same MO, etc.

If he is acquitted a lot of people will conclude that all the other women are lying.; 12/30/15, 10:36 AM
Beach Brutus said...: Article says the statute of limitations for this charge is 12 years. That's seems like a long time to fairly commence a prosecution.; 12/30/15, 10:38 AM
Michael K said...: Cosby never should have said anything like his comments about the black family and black on black crime. It painted a huge target on him.

I also think 98% of those women went after him to further their career.

Read some of the stories about Errol Flynn. He kept his mouth shut about families.; 12/30/15, 10:46 AM
cubanbob said...: Ann Althouse said...

I predict he will be acquitted.
12/30/15, 10:04 AM

Deferring to your legal expertise presumably the prosecutor also knows this so why bring the charges unless there is some political motive for doing so? 9 years ago the conclusion was there wasn't enough evidence to prosecute so what has changed now other than the politics?; 12/30/15, 10:48 AM
MacMacConnell said...: Any word on whether Hollywood is going to come to his defense? Oh wait ...sorry he's not a pedophile, never mind.; 12/30/15, 11:24 AM
wendybar said...: Blogger eric said...
Someone with the initials BC is being brought up on sexual assault charges and its a black guy instead of a white guy with the same initials?

Black lives matter!

I think you have the comment of the day!!! When is the white one going to be brought up on sexual assault charges??; 12/30/15, 11:45 AM
JAORE said...: Seems political unless new evidence (other than the evidence that the juror pool might be more predisposed to convict Cosby today) came to light.

How interesting would it be if some prosecutor would bring up aggravated sexual assault charges on Slick Willy from those actions so many years ago?

Oh the howls we'd hear.; 12/30/15, 12:08 PM
Jaq said...: He should have kept his mildly conservative opinions to himself.; 12/30/15, 12:31 PM
garage mahal said...: "He should have kept his mildly conservative opinions to himself."

I think his rape drugs and cock were the the problem here.; 12/30/15, 12:43 PM
eric said...: Blogger garage mahal said...
"He should have kept his mildly conservative opinions to himself."

I think his rape drugs and cock were the the problem here.

Why do you think that?

Were they a problem for Bill Clinton?

Is it because Cosby is black?; 12/30/15, 12:58 PM
FullMoon said...: He was explorin' while she was snorin'.

Aquital depends upon jury.
'ludes were pretty popular drug back then. I am curious as to wheter the
"victim" had taken Qualudes before.

And, twelve years is a long time for a he said/she said.; 12/30/15, 1:11 PM
Joe said...: My guess is that DA is bringing charges so he can run for reelection without being accused of sweeping the issue under the rug.

I think Cosby is guilty, but will be acquitted due to the state's burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. (However, I'm not convinced all the accusations against him are true, especially accusations made AFTER the initial publicity.); 12/30/15, 1:45 PM
Snark said...: If this is a revival of the complaint of the Canadian woman I'm of two minds. First, in so far as it validates what had to take some courage in reporting the alleged assault back then, well, good. It's hard to imagine though what new view of the evidence warrants this, other than a new view that an existing belief in his guilt has so permeated the culture that they simply have a shot at succeeding now. And that is exactly the sort of thing the legal system should guard against, not leverage. So although he's almost certainly guilty I hope that the result truly reflects the specific evidence in this case. That said, there's so much smoke perhaps there is an argument that any jurisdiction where the statute of limitations has not run out has some sort of an obligation to the collective to proceed if even marginally warranted. I don't know. Tough one.; 12/30/15, 1:45 PM
hombre said...: Let's see, she waits a year to report and also changed her story. Without the inclusion of "other bad acts," the case is a dead bang loser.

Will he be convicted because of the facts in this case or because a bunch of women say he's a bad guy - sometimes decades later. How about sentencing if he's convicted? Interesting legal and ethical questions for a judge. Of course in Pennsylvania most judges are Democrats so probably not so much. Just a matter of the prevailing wind.

Cross examination of the prosecution witnesses will be interesting.; 12/30/15, 1:46 PM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: He was beloved by white America and he criticized black irresponsibility, and so he was destroyed by Black Shit Splatters.; 12/30/15, 1:58 PM
garage mahal said...: Liberals forced Cosby to drug and rape multiple women. They want to destroy him!; 12/30/15, 2:27 PM
mezzrow said...: I predict he will be acquitted.

The process is the punishment. This will also be there to fill the news as a distraction from whatever it is we aren't supposed to know about while this is going on.

Heathcliff Huxtable. (tsk,tsk); 12/30/15, 2:35 PM
Michael K said...: garage mahal said...
"He should have kept his mildly conservative opinions to himself."

I think his rape drugs and cock were the the problem here."

Not for Bill, garage, not for Bill. Bill Clinton, of course, I meant.

Maybe garage does not know why Quaaludes were taken off the market. It was't for rape, by the way.; 12/30/15, 2:36 PM
Jupiter said...: A couple of things have changed.

For one thing, American juries are likely a lot less favorable toward the argument that "she had it coming". Plus, a judge has unsealed the depositions from the civil settlement, which makes a lot of new evidence available. And, Cosby is not willing to let the matter rest. The stupid bastard decided he would clear his name, by suing one of his victims for defamation;

"On December 15, Cosby sued Beverly Johnson, a pioneering African-American supermodel who accused Cosby in 2014 of sexual misconduct that she says happened years ago; Johnson says the comedian drugged and tried to rape her at her New York home in the mid-1980s."

How do you suppose he picked her? To sue, I mean, not to rape. It's pretty clear Cosby wasn't at all picky about who he raped. But I guess that his lawyers decided she was the most vulnerable to the sort of abuse they are trained to employ.

It is one thing for a prosecutor to refuse to take a dicey case to trial. It is another to let a hardened and inveterate criminal continue his abuse by dragging his innocent victims before a court in an attempt to silence them by bankruptcy.

So, yeah, I'm with Garage on this one. Stopped clock, twice a day.; 12/30/15, 2:53 PM
Michael K said...: "But I guess that his lawyers decided she was the most vulnerable to the sort of abuse they are trained to employ. "

Or it didn't happen.

The UVA Phi Psi's could not be reached for comment.; 12/30/15, 4:02 PM
Jupiter said...: Michael K said...
"Or it didn't happen.

The UVA Phi Psi's could not be reached for comment."

So you are going out on that limb? All 50+ of them are gold-digging liars? You seem like a pretty sharp guy, MK. Go read this article in NYmag. Look at their pictures. Take your time, there are a lot of them. Then come back and tell me Bill Cosby never raped anyone, and all 35 of these women had nothing better to do with what's left of their lives than lie like rugs to punish Dr. Huxtable for dissing black America.

http://tinyurl.com/pwj5h6p

As I recall, Garage was right about Woody Allen, too. What is it with the rest of you guys? You don't think men are capable of abusing a vulnerable woman? You must all be saints, right? Or eunuchs? You probably think ISIS doesn't rape their Yazidi sex slaves.; 12/30/15, 4:33 PM
Michael said...: Jupiter

Unfortunately, the last two or three years have seen an epidemic of women claiming to be raped by this person or that and, as it turns out, many of them were lying. Some for twisted payback, some because they were mental, some for money. But there has been an epidemic that has not cause, it was simply an eruption of victims. So many of us are skeptical of fifty women coming out in such a short period of time to claim they were abused (raped? seduced?) by a (wait....wait....wait) rich guy.; 12/30/15, 6:09 PM
Sabinal said...: Why are you all so eager to put Cosby in jail? Everyone is acting as if they are going to get a million dollars if he is indicted.

It's some sort of weird self-righteousness and sadism to me.

There is virtually nothing the DA can go on. Cosby got quaaludes for sex, but unless he admitted to hiding them in drinks, he did nothing more than what Hollywood and New Yorkers did (and keep doing). The women admitted they took them (did he lie and say to them it was aspirin)? And why didnt any of the women go to the police or at least the hospital with their accusations (I hate to say it, but Cosby is still a black man and Americans still think they are monsters). And why did some of them *choose* to stay with them for a week or more after they were attacked.; 12/30/15, 6:16 PM
JAORE said...: "So, yeah, I'm with Garage on this one. Stopped clock, twice a day."

Oh I think it's likely he's guilty of multiple sexual assaults. Though proving such these many years later will be problematic. But I hope you are not "with Garage" on his remarks and thought process.

Simply put, Cosby has skated on these allegations for YEARS. So, why resurrect the issue now? And why did all the silent victims or others** come forth now? Not the 33rd woman, but the second, third, fourth until Cosby's good will was exhausted and the piling on began. Whether it is the emphasis on "rape culture" * or his conservative-lite comments that re-drew the bulls eye on him and brought out all the other accusers I do not know.

* If so, and media can not squash the backlash, Hillary is in trouble.

** I would suggest Janice Dickinson s an example. The term attention whore was custom made for her.; 12/30/15, 6:37 PM
Jupiter said...: Michael said...

"So many of us are skeptical of fifty women coming out in such a short period of time to claim they were abused (raped? seduced?) by a (wait....wait....wait) rich guy."

JAORE said...

"And why did all the silent victims or others** come forth now? Not the 33rd woman, but the second, third, fourth until Cosby's good will was exhausted and the piling on began."

You guys need to read that article. These women aren't after money. Many of them say they have come forward simply to support the others. Because they know who is lying, and it is not the accusers.

Imagine that you were raped, by someone you admired and trusted, when you were young and vulnerable. For most of your life, you have been watching your rapist receive the adulation of the entire nation. Now someone else has accused him of raping her, in exactly the way he raped you. And he is calling her a liar, and has sicced his lawyers and his detectives on her, and is trying to trash her reputation and convince everyone she knows that she is crazy or worse. Would you "pile on"? Would you have the courage?

Read the article, and look at their faces. Then tell me they are all liars. Not just one or two of them. Tell me every last one of them is a stone cold, lying bitch.

As to Garage's "thought process", I gather he attacks Bill Cosby because he believes Cosby is being defended by the Right. Like a stopped clock, he is right twice a day.; 12/30/15, 7:28 PM
chillblaine said...: Will Black America rally around Cosby like they did O.J. and M.J.?; 12/30/15, 11:50 PM
Jason said...: If Sarah or Bristol Palin were a victim, I bet garage would be snarking about how she had it coming.; 12/31/15, 10:34 AM
Jason said...: Jupiter? Why would looking at their faces change my opinion about whether they are lying? This seems like an irrational criteria.; 12/31/15, 10:36 AM
Jupiter said...: Jason said...
"Jupiter? Why would looking at their faces change my opinion about whether they are lying? This seems like an irrational criteria."

Because you are thinking they are a bunch of sex kittens. And maybe they were, once. But they are now a bunch of dignified-looking grandmothers, who flew to NYC to have their pictures taken so they could tell the story about something that happened to them, a long time ago, that they have never gotten over. And I defy you to look at those pictures, and then tell me that it is still your opinion that every last one of them, all 35, are low-down, conniving liars. Because if even one of them is telling the truth, Bill Cosby is not.

Try it. They won't bite you. http://tinyurl.com/pwj5h6p; 12/31/15, 11:06 AM
Jason said...: And their grandmotherly appearance, as opposed to looking like young sex kittens now, many years after the fact, is a rational criteria for assessing their truthfulness how? Sex kittens don't report rapes truthfully? Dignified-looking grandmothers don't lie? Huh?

It is not my opinion that all 35 of them are lying. But looking at their photos is a really stupid way to come to that conclusion, or any other, about their testimony.; 12/31/15, 12:31 PM
Jupiter said...: Jason said...
"It is not my opinion that all 35 of them are lying. But looking at their photos is a really stupid way to come to that conclusion, or any other, about their testimony."

Pardon my stupidity. How did you decide that they aren't all lying?; 12/31/15, 1:13 PM
clint said...: "cubanbob said...

... presumably the prosecutor also knows this so why bring the charges unless there is some political motive for doing so? 9 years ago the conclusion was there wasn't enough evidence to prosecute so what has changed now other than the politics?

12/30/15, 10:48 AM"

The statute of limitations was about to run out.

It was now or never. On a failed prosecution, he can say he tried. If he lets the statute of limitations run out... he's a part of the rape culture, or something.

My take: Biggest loser is Bill Clinton. No way he doesn't get mentioned as the "other Bill" in all this.; 12/31/15, 2:32 PM
ken in tx said...: Quaalude is not a rape drug. It's a swinger's orgy drug. It's supposed to enhance the female orgasm. So I've been told.; 12/31/15, 4:14 PM