Cosby Returns to Court to Face Accuser

(7 Jun 2017) Comedian Bill Cosby returned to court to face his accuser, who said Tuesday that she shot down the actor's casual advances twice before she found herself unable to fight him off the night she took pills that he convinced her were safe herbal supplements. Andrea Constand emerged from 12 years of silence to testify at Cosby's sexual assault trial. Constand described how her professional relationship with the Temple University trustee evolved into a friendship that she considered critical to the school's athletics department where she worked. At the same time, she said, Cosby became more flirtatious and suggestive - grabbing her thigh during one encounter at his home and attempting to unbutton her pants in another. Both times, Constand said, she made it clear she didn't welcome the behavior. But she didn't feel threatened. The next time she visited Cosby's home, to discuss her future with the women's basketball team, Constand said the pills Cosby gave her left her incapacitated as he grabbed her breast and touched her genitals. She said she awoke in the early morning, quietly passing Cosby in the kitchen as she left so she could make it to her Temple office on time. She said she didn't tell anyone about the alleged assault at the time out of loyalty to the women's basketball team, which she managed. Cosby, 79, is charged with drugging and sexually abusing Constand in 2004. The TV star once dubbed America's Dad could get 10 years in prison if convicted. Cosby arrived at the courthouse Wednesday accompanied by actress Sheila Frazier, who co-starred in the 1978 comedy "California Suite." Frazier was accompanied by her husband, John Atchison, a celebrity hairstylist whose client roster includes Cosby and his wife, Camille. 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...