On Wednesday afternoon, Bill Cosby arrived at a Pennsylvania courthouse for an arraignment on charges of aggravated indecent assault, a first-degree felony in connection with the 2004 case involving Andrea Constand.
Cosby was escorted by his lawyers and carrying a cane. The judge set his bail at $1,000,000, 10 percent of which the comedian’s already posted, and took his passport. He is to have no contact with Constand.
Jezebel reached out to some of the women who’ve accused Cosby of sexual assault in the past about what this means to them.
“Together we ripped his mask off and revealed him for what he really is,” P.J. Masten, the former Playboy bunny who alleges the comedian raped her at a Chicago hotel in 1979, told Jezebel. “We’re very happy with the prosecutors in Montgomery County and so grateful for them.”
Others say that while they are celebrating criminal charges against the comedian, they still feel legally threatened by the possibility of defamation lawsuits against them, like Cosby’s suit against Beverly Johnson, another accuser.
Elsewhere, Gloria Allred is representing dozens of other accusers, including Judy Huth, who says she was 15 years old when Cosby attacked her at the Playboy mansion. Allred deposed Cosby in that case in October and she is pushing for a second deposition of the comedian.
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Image via AP.