Prosecutors Request 19 Bill Cosby Accusers Be Allowed To Testify

NORRISTOWN, PA — Prosecutors are shooting for the stars in the upcoming Bill Cosby retrial, requesting permission to use the testimony of 19 of his accusers when the embattled former comedian takes the stand in Montgomery County Court again in April.

During Cosby's first trial last June, prosecutors only requested the testimony of 13 of Cosby's accusers. Judge Steven T. O'Neill ultimately only allowed the testimony of one of them: Kelly Johnson. To go for 19 now represents a massive ask.

Andrea Constand, a former Temple University employee who alleges Cosby drugged and assaulted her in his Cheltenham home in 2004, is the first woman to bring criminal charges against Cosby all the way to trial. The statute of limitations has long passed for dozens of Cosby's other accusers, all of whom have leveled similar accusations.

The request came in a motion on Thursday, which cited previous court cases in describing the testimony of these 19 accusers as "distinctive and so nearly identical as to become the signature of the same perpetrator."

The motion adds that the testimony is vital to the trial because it represents a pattern that casts significant doubt on whether Cosby could have reasonably thought Constand was conscious enough to refuse or consent to sexual contact. Or, as prosecutors put it: "As the number of victims reporting similar, drug-facilitated sexual assaults by defendants increases, the likelihood that his conduct was unintentional decreases."

Cosby faces three counts of aggravated indecent assault in connection to the incident.

His defense team includes former Michael Jackson lawyer Thomas Meserau, along with noted attorneys Kathleen Bliss and Sam Silver. It's a full transition from the deadlocked jury trial last June, after lead attorney Brian McMonagle and widely regarded defender Angela Agrusa both left the team.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele will lead the prosecution.

AP Photo/Matt Rourke