New Date Set For Bill Cosby's Sex Assault Retrial
PHILADELPHIA (CBS/AP)-- A new trial date had been set for Bill Cosby.
According to the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office, Judge O'Neill has set Cosby's new trial for Nov. 6, 2017.
The comedian and actor once known as "America's Dad" for his TV role as paternal Dr. Cliff Huxtable, avoided a conviction on Father's Day weekend as a jury declared itself hopelessly deadlocked on charges he drugged and molested a woman more than a decade ago.
Prosecutors found themselves back to square one on June 17 after the judge declared a mistrial following more than 52 hours of deliberations over six days.
'Hopelessly Deadlocked': Judge Declares Mistrial In Cosby Sex Assault Case
A juror in the case says two holdouts prevented a guilty verdict.
The juror, who spoke exclusively to ABC News on condition of anonymity, says that after 52 hours of deliberations 10 of the 12 jurors agreed that Cosby was guilty on two counts of felony aggravated indecent assault. And only one of the jurors believed he was guilty on a third count.
Last month, the judge ruled that the jurors' names should be made public. He says jurors may not discuss what other jurors said during deliberations.
ALTERNATE JUROR BREAKS SILENCE
A man who says he was an alternate juror in the Bill Cosby sexual assault trial is having his say. He spoke to WDVE, the radio station that broadcasts the Pittsburgh Steelers games.
'I Probably Would've Convicted': Alternate Juror Breaks Silence About Cosby Trial
As one of six alternates, Mike McCloskey was in the courtroom for the trial, but didn't deliberate with the 12 jurors. Despite that, he remained sequestered in Montgomery County.
"Over a week of trial deliberations, I had to go through this," he said, "and I literally couldn't talk about it."
McCloskey says he felt "ridiculously sick" when he found out the jury couldn't reach a verdict.
"I probably would've convicted," he said, "based on the evidence I heard."
He says he'd expected the jurors to break their silence on the bus ride back to Pittsburgh.
SEXUAL ASSAULT TOUR?
Last month, days after Cosby's criminal assault case ended, Cosby's spokesman Andrew Wyatt told CBS3 that the 79-year-old comedian planned to hold 5 to 7 town halls this summer in which he would warn young people about issues related to sexual assault allegations.
However, a spokeswoman for Bill Cosby is clarifying the purpose of the comedian's planned town hall meetings.
"I just want to be clear," Ebonee Benson told CNN. "The town hall meetings are not about sexual assault. I will repeat: These town hall meetings are not about sexual assault."
ROUND TWO
Excoriated by the defense for charging Cosby in the first place, District Attorney Kevin Steele vowed to put him on trial a second time, saying accuser Andrea Constand supported the decision.
"She has shown such courage through this, and we are in awe of what she has done," Steele said. "She's entitled to a verdict in this case."
Bill Cosby Says He Isn't Planning A 'Sexual Assault Tour'
Constand told jurors Cosby gave her pills that made her woozy and then penetrated her with his fingers as she lay paralyzed on a couch, unable to tell him to stop. The 2004 encounter at Cosby's suburban Philadelphia estate was the only one to result in criminal charges.
Constand is ready to go to trial again, said her lawyer, Dolores Troiani.
"She's a very spiritual woman, she believes things happen for a purpose, and I think the purpose is ... it should encourage other women to come forward and have their day in court."
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