Bill Cosby is expected to be retried later this year after a judge declared a mistrial last month in a court case accusing the entertainer of sexual assault.
Judge Steven O’Neill of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, ruled Thursday that Cosby will stand trial again on three charges of assault on November 6. O’Neill declared a mistrial in mid-June after a jury failed to reach a unanimous consensus in a case accusing Cosby, 79, of sexually assaulting a former employee of his alma mater in his Philadelphia home in 2004.
If convicted, Cosby would face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
His retrial does not come as a surprise. Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said in court when the mistrial was declared that he planned to retry the case.
The case was brought by Andrea Constand, 44, a former director of operations for Temple University’s women’s basketball team. She testified that Cosby molested her when she was incapacitated from three pills that the comedian gave her, telling her they would help her relax.
Sixty women have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct in recent years, but the statute of limitations has expired in most of those cases. Constand’s claims are the only ones that have led to criminal charges for the disgraced comedian.
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