In the past few years, dozens of women have come forward to accuse Bill Cosby of sexual misconduct. He has lost television deals, honorary college degrees and his reputation as “America’s Dad.”
But whether he spends a single day in prison will depend on how a dozen jurors answer this question: What exactly happened between Cosby, now 80, and Andrea Constand, now 45, in his home near Philadelphia more than 14 years ago?
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Was it a sexual assault facilitated by the use of drugs, as Constand and the prosecution contend? Or was it a consensual encounter between a famous entertainer and a woman who would later make false accusations to win a huge payment, as Cosby’s defense team claims?
Cosby’s first trial ended in a hung jury in June. As the jury in his retrial begins deliberations Wednesday in Norristown, Pennsylvania, here is a guide to how the case unfolded:
November 2002: Constand, who works for the Temple University women’s basketball team, meets Cosby, a Temple alumnus and supporter, at one of the team’s games in Philadelphia.
January 2004: The month that Constand said Cosby assaulted her at his home after giving her wine and three pills that left her “frozen.” Besides the issue of whether the encounter was consensual, Cosby’s team has questioned whether it occurred earlier than Constand described, which could place the episode too far outside the statute of limitations for Cosby to be held criminally liable.
January 2005: Constand, who has left Temple and moved back home to Toronto, tells her mother that Cosby assaulted her about a year earlier. They call him and contact the Canadian police. Three days later, Cosby returns the call, apologizes, declines to identify the pills, but suggests the sex was consensual.
Feb. 17, 2005: The Montgomery County district attorney at the time, Bruce L. Castor Jr., decides not to charge Cosby, citing “insufficient credible and admissible evidence.”
March 8, 2005: Constand sues Cosby. Eventually a dozen women will agree to present testimony of similar behavior on his part.
September 2005: In deposition testimony, Cosby admits to obtaining quaaludes to give to young women for sex. Constand’s suit is later settled, and both sign a nondisclosure agreement. The deposition and settlement amount are not made public at that point.
October 2014: During a comedy routine, Hannibal Buress refers to Cosby as a rapist. A video of the moment goes viral, prompting many other women to come forward with accusations.
July 2015: A judge releases parts of Cosby’s deposition in the 2005 civil case. The criminal investigation is later reopened, and detectives visit Toronto to interview Constand.
Nov. 3, 2015: Montgomery County voters elect Kevin R. Steele as district attorney. He had criticized the 2005 decision not to prosecute Cosby.
Dec. 30, 2015: Cosby is arrested on charges of aggravated indecent assault. Based on the timing described by Constand, the charges come just before the expiration of the 12-year statute of limitations for the charge.
June 17, 2017: Cosby’s first trial ends in a mistrial after jurors remain deadlocked following six days of deliberations.
April 9, 2018: The retrial begins. For the first time, the amount of Cosby’s settlement with Constand is revealed: $3.38 million. And this time, the judge allows five women to testify that Cosby assaulted them in ways similar to how Constand says she was attacked. In the first trial, only one other woman was permitted to take the stand. Cosby has a new witness, too: a Temple employee who said Constand once told her she could make money by falsely accusing a prominent person.