Bill Cosby will be charged in sexual assault case

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Bill Cosby

AP

Comedian Bill Cosby performs during a show at the Maxwell C. King Center for the Performing Arts in Melbourne, Fla., Friday, Nov. 21, 2014.

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NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) - Bill Cosby will be charged in the investigation of an alleged sexual assault more than a decade ago, two people familiar with a prosecutor's decision said Wednesday.

The two people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because Montgomery County prosecutors had yet to make the announcement. Prosecutors were set to announce the results of their investigation Wednesday at 10 a.m.

It's the first criminal case against Cosby over his conduct with women, which has received new scrutiny in the past year. The 78-year-old comedian previously said under oath that he had consensual sexual contact with the woman.

A former Temple University employee told police the comedian drugged and violated her at his home near Philadelphia in 2004.

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A previous district attorney declined to charge Cosby in 2005.

Prosecutors reopened the case over the summer as damaging testimony was unsealed in a related civil lawsuit against Cosby and as dozens of other women came forward with similar accusations that made a mockery of his image as the wise and understanding Dr. Cliff Huxtable from TV's "The Cosby Show."

Many of those alleged assaults date back decades, and the statute of limitations for bringing charges has expired in nearly every case. But Pennsylvania law gives prosecutors up to 12 years for some sex crimes, with the clock running out on this case in January.

The former university employee, Andrea Constand, settled her lawsuit against Cosby in 2006 on confidential terms.

Constand claimed the comedian gave her Quaaludes to assault her.

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She went to police with the allegations, but the district attorney ruled there wasn't enough evidence to charge Cosby. The district attorney on the case told the Daily Mail that at the time, he thought Cosby was probably guilty, and he wanted to arrest him, but he didn't have sufficient proof of the alleged assault.

There wasn't any physical evidence for the case because Constand waited a year before going to police.

After police declined to charge Cosby, Constand filed a civil suit and lined up 13 other women as supporting witnesses who had stories about Cosby similar to hers.

Constand used to work for the women's basketball program at Temple University, Cosby's alma mater. She said she met Cosby in 2002 and saw him as a mentor. He invited her for dinners at his house, she told the Daily Mail.

She claimed in court documents that in 2004, she went to Cosby's house for a visit at his request. He reportedly told her that he wanted to help her pursue a new career. When Constand talked about being stressed, he allegedly gave her three blue pills that he said were an "herbal medication" to help her relax.

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Constand said she then began to feel shaky, weak, and dizzy. She said she told Cosby she wasn't feeling well, and he led her to a sofa where he laid her down. Constand was allegedly so impaired that she couldn't walk on her own.

She said Cosby then positioned himself behind her on the sofa and began touching her inappropriately. He then allegedly sexually assaulted her. Constand claimed she was barely conscious throughout the alleged attack.

Constand woke up at about 4 a.m. with her clothes and underwear in disarray, according to the lawsuit. Cosby allegedly greeted her in his bathrobe before she left his house.