Cosby Spokeswoman Calls Testimony 'Distraction'

(12 Apr 2018) Decades after they say Bill Cosby knocked them out with intoxicants and sexually assaulted them, three of his accusers confronted the 80-year-old comedian in court Wednesday, with one woman pointedly calling him a "serial rapist" and another asking him through her tears, "You remember, don't you, Mr. Cosby?" The women's charged rhetoric prompted several mistrial requests from Cosby's lawyers - which were denied - as prosecutors built their case that Cosby was one of Hollywood's biggest predators long before he met Andrea Constand, the chief accuser in his sexual assault retrial. Now well into middle age, the accusers spoke of entering Cosby's orbit as starstruck young women seeking career help or, in the case of a casino bartender from Reno, Nevada, simply looking for a fun time. All of them testified they wound up unconscious from the pills or alcohol he gave them, unable to say no or resist as he had his way with them. Aadditional accusers could also help prosecutors insulate Constand from the defense's contention that she is a "con artist" who preyed on Cosby's vulnerability after the 1997 killing of his son, Ennis, and then framed him to score a big payday via a $3.4 million civil settlement. The defense has urged jurors to ignore the other accusers, calling their allegations irrelevant to the charges involving Constand, who turned 45 on Wednesday. Outside court, Cosby spokeswoman Ebonee Benson called the testimony from prior accusers a "prosecution by distraction." "When you don't have a case, you'll fill the case with something else," she said. "Once the jury hears the evidence of the case we are here for, they will render a verdict of not guilty." Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...