NORRISTOWN, Pa. — Comedian Bill Cosby has filed a lengthy appeal of the sex assault conviction that landed him in prison and says the judge allowed testimony from other women accusers that wasn’t relevant.
Cosby’s lawyers say the accounts from the five other women were “strikingly dissimilar” to that of trial accuser Andrea Constand and too remote in time to her 2004 encounter with Cosby.
The appeal Tuesday comes after Pennsylvania Judge Steven O’Neill in a post-trial memo said their testimony showed “chilling similarities” that pointed to a “signature” crime.
The 81-year-old Cosby has been serving a three- to 10-year prison term since September at a state prison near Philadelphia.
The appeal also challenges O’Neill’s decisions to air Cosby’s prior deposition testimony about Quaalude use and to preside despite an alleged feud with a pretrial witness.
The Associated Press
