Bill Cosby’s sexual assault retrial is set to take place in April following last summer's mistrial. According to the Associated Press, prosecutors are trying to bring in as many as 19 women to take the witness stand and talk about Cosby’s alleged pattern of drugging and assaulting women.
During Cosby’s first trial, Judge Steven O’Neill only allowed one accuser to take the stand for the prosecution, though they had proposed 13 witnesses. The trial ended in June with a hung jury, forcing a retrial where prosecution has added six more women to that original list of 13.
The pretrial begins on Monday, March 5, less than two weeks after the death of Cosby's daughter Ensa, who died on February 23. Prosecutors and Cosby’s defense lawyers are currently arguing over how many women will be allowed to testify during the retrial. Some of the allegations date back to the 1960s, which Cosby’s lawyers are claiming is “virtually impossible to defend against.” “Developing a defense to any of these outdated claims will require unusual amounts of investigative effort that cannot be completed by the present trial date,” they wrote in a recent court filing.
Kelly Johnson was the only alleged victim able to testify against the sitcom star in the first trial. According to the AP, she testified that during a meeting in 1996, Cosby drugged her. Johnson alleges that she later woke up to find him assaulting her.
Jury selection for the retrial begins March 29. The case returns to court on April 2.
