Criminal Charges Filed Against Bill Cosby

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) — The latest on the announcement of a criminal charge against Bill Cosby in Pennsylvania.

11 a.m. (all times local)

The lawyer for a woman who accuses Bill Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting her in 2004 is praising a prosecutor for filing a criminal charge against the comedian.

Dolores Troiani says Andrea Constand appreciates the consideration and courtesy that investigators have shown in the reopened case. Troiani also says she and her client "have the utmost confidence" in the law enforcement team now handling the case. She says she otherwise will not comment on the criminal case.

Cosby is expected to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon on a sexual assault charge.

A message left with one of Cosby's civil attorneys was not immediately returned. A second did not pick up his phone. A third attorney expected to represent him in the criminal case did not return a message.

The 78-year-old comedian has said under oath that he had consensual sexual contact with the woman.

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10:25 a.m.

Bill Cosby is expected to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon on a sexual assault charge filed over a 2004 encounter in his home outside Philadelphia.

Prosecutors say the comedian urged the former Temple University employee to take pills he had and to drink wine. Kevin Steele, Montgomery County's first assistant district attorney, says the woman was paralyzed and unable to respond to his advances — and that Cosby committed aggravated indecent assault.

Steele says recently released excerpts from Cosby's deposition in a civil lawsuit led to the renewed investigation.

Steele says that after seeing the deposition material "reopening this case was not a question, rather it was our duty."

Cosby's lawyer declined to comment on the charge before the announcement. The 78-year-old comedian said under oath that he had consensual sexual contact with the woman.

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10 a.m.

Bill Cosby has been charged with sexual assault more than a decade after a former Temple University employee told police the comedian drugged and violated her at his home near Philadelphia.

It's the first criminal charge against Cosby over his conduct with women, which has received new scrutiny in the past year.

The Montgomery County prosecutor announced Wednesday that Cosby had been charged with aggravated indecent assault, a felony. It's a reversal of a decision by a previous district attorney, who declined to charge Cosby in 2005.

Cosby's lawyer declined to comment on the case before the announcement. The 78-year-old comedian previously said under oath that he had consensual sexual contact with the woman.

Prosecutors reopened the case as new evidence was unsealed in the woman's related civil case and dozens of women came forward with similar accusations.

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9:50 a.m.

Two people familiar with a prosecutor's decision say Bill Cosby will be charged in the investigation of an alleged sexual assault more than a decade ago.

The two people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because Montgomery County prosecutors had yet to make the announcement.

It's the first criminal charges against Cosby over his conduct with women, which has received new scrutiny in the past year.

A former Temple University employee told police the comedian drugged and violated her at his home near Philadelphia. Prosecutors are set to announce the results of their investigation Wednesday morning.

A previous district attorney declined to charge Cosby in 2005.

The 78-year-old comedian previously said under oath that he had consensual sexual contact with the woman.

Prosecutors reopened the case as new evidence was unsealed in the woman's related civil case and dozens of women came forward with similar accusations.

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9:30 a.m.

Prosecutors in Pennsylvania are set to announce whether Bill Cosby will be charged over an encounter with a woman 12 years ago.

Montgomery County prosecutors say they will announce the results of a new investigation on Wednesday at 10 a.m.

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

Cosby's lawyer declined to comment on the case before the announcement. The 78-year-old comedian previously said under oath that he had consensual sexual contact with the woman.

A previous district attorney declined to charge Cosby in 2005. Prosecutors reopened the case as new evidence was unsealed in the woman's related civil case and dozens of women came forward with similar accusations.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press