Bill Cosby was today facing the prospect of a trial for sexual assault after a judge ruled that prosecutors can proceed with the case against the veteran entertainer.
Judge Steven O’Neill rejected arguments that the comedian was granted immunity from prosecution a decade ago.
Cosby, 78, was arrested in December and charged with drugging and violating former Temple University athletic department employee Andrea Constand at his Philadelphia home in 2004.
The TV star could get up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
The next step is a preliminary hearing on March 8 to decide whether prosecutors have enough evidence to put him on trial.
Cosby held his head in his hands after the ruling. He waved and smiled at supporters as he left the courtroom in Norristown, just outside Philadelphia, but did not comment.
More than 50 women have accused Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting them since the 1960s, but the statute of limitations for prosecuting the comic has run out in nearly every instance.
Cosby denies all the allegations against him.
Read More
MORE ABOUT