Cosby lawyer on offensive

Photo: The Canadian Press

Bill Cosby's lawyers on Wednesday attacked what they called "vague, remote and often inconsistent" allegations from a slew of women whom prosecutors are seeking to call as witnesses at his sexual-assault trial next year.

Lawyers for the 79-year-old actor and comedian asked a judge to block 13 accusers from taking the witness stand, saying uncertainty about where and when some of the sexual encounters took place made them impossible to defend against.

Cosby, who was known as America's Dad for his top-rated family sitcom, "The Cosby Show," which ran from 1984 to 1992, is charged with molesting a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.

Prosecutors are seeking testimony from the other accusers to show Cosby had a long history of knocking out women with drugs and drinks and sexually assaulting them. Cosby has pleaded not guilty.

At a hearing, the defence portrayed the potential prosecution witnesses as "bandwagon" accusers who came forward because they sought to cash in on Cosby's fame and wealth.

The women went public at the urging of "clever, cunning lawyers who had the agenda of bringing down an American icon," Cosby lawyer Brian McMonagle told Montgomery County Judge Steven O'Neill, who must determine whether some or all of the accusers will be permitted to take the witness stand.

The two-day hearing closed without a decision, with the judge saying he'd take some time before ruling.

McMonagle argued prosecutors dredged up unsubstantiated assault allegations dating to the 1960s to try to breathe life into a weak case, and he urged the judge to "follow the money" when examining the motives of the accusers.

"There's no good reason in this world for these uncorroborated, unconfirmed, unreported, ancient allegations to be brought into this courtroom or any courtroom in this country," he said afterward.

Cosby is charged with assaulting Andrea Constand, then a Temple University employee. She filed a police complaint against Cosby, a long-married father of five and her friend and mentor, but a prosecutor at the time declined to file charges.

Authorities reopened the investigation last year after scores of women raised similar accusations and after Cosby's damaging deposition testimony from Constand's lawsuit became public.

The judge ruled last week the deposition may be used at Cosby's criminal trial, arming prosecutors with Cosby's testimony about his affairs with young women, his use of quaaludes as a seduction tool and his version of the sexual encounter with Constand.