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Bill Cosby Case: Who Is Andrea Constand? [Videos, Photos]

By Charisse Van Horn
Published on: 11:11 PST, Dec 30, 2015

As the Bill Cosby case heats up (the actor was charged with aggravated indecent assault on Dec. 30), the public is asking who is Andrea Constand? Andrea Constand first brought her case against Bill Cosby to authorities in 2005, but it was put aside due to lack of evidence. That has changed along with a different district attorney in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. For those who are feeling a bit lost with the Bill Cosby case, the approximately 50 victims who have alleged the comedian drugged, sexually molested or raped them, and why Bill Cosby is being charged after all these years, you aren’t alone. Here’s an overview of the Bill Cosby case, a look at who Andrea Constand is and a brief explanation as to why her case is being heard in a court of law when the other cases aren’t.

https://youtu.be/uxIJunN6t4Y

William Henry Cosby, Jr “Bill” Cosby was born on July 12, 1937. He started out as a comedian and began his career in television with the show I Spy that aired from 1965 until 1968. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Bill Cosby graduated from Temple University in 1971. During the 70s, Bill Cosby was well known for his children’s series Fat Albert. In addition to Temple University, Bill Cosby earned a doctorate from University of Massachusetts (UMASS). Bill Cosby was viewed as a pioneering hero in the African American community as he was looked upon as a moral figure, leader, and not only was he an actor, but he was paving the way for African Americans to not only appear in front of the camera, but behind the scenes as well. Following Bill Cosby’s success with Fat Albert, he moved on to produce and star in what would become the top show of the 80s: The Cosby Show. While Bill Cosby was on television portraying Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable, a silent crowd of women began to make quiet allegations that Bill Cosby had drugged, molested or raped them. In 2004, Andrea Constand would be one of these women.

Andrea Constand, a Canadian, would meet Bill Cosby through his Alma Mater Temple University, states NJ. According to the probable cause, Andrea Constand worked for Temple University as director of operations for the women’s basketball team. She worked for the college between Dec 2001 and March 31, 2004. The criminal complaint filed against Bill Cosby on Dec 30, states there are three charges for aggravated indecent assault him. The charges stem from incidents that occurred between January and mid February 2004. The probable cause states that when Bill Cosby and Andrea Constand met, they became friends, he acted as a role model or mentor for her. It didn’t take long, according to the allegations, for their relationship to take a dark twist.

The probable cause states that first she was introduced to Bill Cosby, then after several months, he contacted the college in order to discuss a business issue with her. The two exchanged phone numbers and Andrea Constand believed that she and Bill Cosby had struck a genuine friendship; she had no suspicion at that time that he had other motives. As Bill Cosby was 37-years-older than her, she viewed him as a mentor and accompanied him on dinner engagements, to meet people and had been to his home for dinner several times. According to Constand, before the sexual assaults and abuse, Bill Cosby had made sexual advances towards her twice.

The probable cause states the incident as told by Andrea Constand.

“The first incident occurred several months after their initial meeting, when Cosby invited the victim to his home for dinner prepared by his private chef. When she arrived, she sat and spoke with Cosby near a fire. After about 20 minutes, the chef served her dinner, which she ate by herself, and she drank some red wine. After dinner, she and Cosby were sitting on the sofa when, without warning, Cosby reached over and touched her pants, her waist, and her inner thigh. With that she dismissed herself to go to the bathroom and gathered her things to leave. Before her departure, Cosby gave her a bottle of perfume and thanked her for little gifts she had brought him.”

The probable cause describes Andrea Constand as being embarrassed by the incident. Andrea Constand described a second incident in the probable cause.

“In the other incident, the victim went for a social visit to Cosby’s Cheltenham (Pennsylvania) home. She had consumed a couple glasses of wine and was talking to him when “out of the blue” Cosby unbuttoned her pants and began touching her. The victim leaned forward to stop him, at which point Cosby got up and went into his kitchen. The victim left ten minutes later with neither of them saying a word about what had just happened.”

Though Bill Cosby allegedly made the advances towards her, the probable cause states she continued to accept invitations to go out to dinner, meet some of his influential friends, and didn’t go out of her way to avoid him. She stated that these incidents occurred prior to mid-Feb. 2004.
Things changed when on Jan. 22, 2005, Andrea Constand contacted authorities to tell them Bill Cosby had sexually assaulted her.

According to Andrea Constand’s written statement, sometime between mid January and mid-February 2004, Bill Cosby called her and asked if she would come to his home He stated that she should dress comfortably and that they would discuss her career and future. Andrea Constand arrived at Bill Cosby’s residence at approximately 8:45 p.m. Bill Cosby wore a sweat suit. The two spoke about Constand’s demands from her current job and she expressed feeling drained. She went to the bathroom and Bill Cosby went upstairs. According to the probable cause, when Bill Cosby returned, he had three blue pills in his hand and urged Andrea to take them.

Constand says that Bill Cosby stated, “These will make you feel good. The blue things will take the edge off.” When she asked if they were herbal pills, he assured her they were with a definite, “Yes.”

Andrea Constand states Bill Cosby motioned for her to take them. He put them in her hand and took the three blue pills. She states he also motioned for her to take the water with the pills, which she did. Andrea Constand says she took the pills and drank the water because she trusted Bill Cosby.

After swallowing the pills and water, Andrea says that Bill Cosby directed her to “taste the wine,” even though she protested, saying she hadn’t eaten anything. She did as he suggested and drank several sips of wine. Constand says she and Bill Cosby continued speaking when approximately 20-30 minutes later she saw blurred vision and could no longer speak clearly. Bill Cosby advised her to lie down so that she could relax.

At this point, Andrea Constand states she lost leg strength, was nauseous, had blurred vision, could not keep her eyes open, lost sense of time and hearing, and felt as if she was going in and out of consciousness or awareness. She described her legs as feeling like jelly and states that during that time, Bill Cosby sexually assaulted her. Andrea Constand states she never consented before or during the acts of sexual assault, which included digital penetration. She states that she became paralyzed and frozen and did not wake up until 4:00 a.m. the following morning. When she woke, her clothes were in disarray, she saw Bill Cosby wearing a robe and she left without saying a word. Three months later, she would return to her mother’s home in Canada.

Legal representatives for Andrea Constand released a statement following the news that Bill Cosby had been charged with aggravated indecent assault. You may read it below.

[Photo by Todd Korol/Toronto Star via Getty Images]

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