Bill Cosby trial: icon’s wife, Camille, accompanies him to court as it’s revealed he will not testify

Camille Cosby’s arrival marked the first time during the trial that a family member was at his side. The couple has four daughters. (Cosby’s “TV daughter” Keshia Knight-Pulliam, who played Rudy on The Cosby Show, accompanied him to court last week.)

It comes as Cosby revealed he would not testify in his own defence at his sexual assault trial.

The 79-year-old comedian told a judge overnight that he made the decision after talking it over with his lawyers.

The prosecution rested its case on Friday after five swift days of testimony in the case that could send Cosby to prison for the rest of his life.

The defence called just one witness before resting: the detective who led the 2005 investigation into allegations Cosby drugged and violated Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home.

Detective Richard Schaffer was one of 12 witnesses who testified during the five-day prosecution case.

Judge Steven O’Neill shot down the defence’s bid to call a second witness, a woman who worked with Constand at Cosby’s alma mater, Temple University.

The defence’s main goal this past week had been to attack the credibility of Constand and Kelly Johnson, who was an assistant at talent agency William Morris, where Cosby’s agent had worked.
 

Johnson had corroborating evidence in the form of her 1996 workers’ compensation claim. A lawyer on the case recalled her startling account of being drugged and sexually assaulted by Cosby, but his notes revealed a glaring discrepancy in the account. He said the encounter occurred in 1990, while Johnson insists it was 1996.

The defence had more trouble trying to discredit Constand. Cosby’s lawyers hammered home the point that the former basketball coach didn’t know when the alleged attack by Cosby happened, questioning why she had regular phone contact with Cosby afterwards, including more than 50 phone calls to him.

Constand said she had to return calls from the Temple University trustee because he was an important donor and she worked for the women’s basketball team.

Constand filed a police complaint in January 2005 after moving back home to the Toronto area, and then sued Cosby in March 2005 when the local prosecutor decided not to charge him.

Cosby’s testimony in her civil case shows just how hard a witness he would be to control. His answers, like his comedy routines, meandered from point to point and veered toward stream of consciousness.

And he used jarring language to describe his sexual encounters with various young women. He spoke in the deposition of “the penile entrance” and “digital penetration.” And he displayed hints of arrogance.

“One of the greatest storytellers in the world and I’m failing,” Cosby said when asked to repeat an answer in the deposition.

The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission, which Constand and Johnson have done.