Bill Cosby sues Andrea Constand, accuser in criminal case

Lawyers for Cosby allege Constand, as a Canadian citizen who now lives in Toronto, had no obligation to cooperate with Montgomery County prosecutors when they reached out to her as they sought to revive their investigation into her claims Cosby drugged and assaulted her in 2004.

Prosecutors investigated but quickly declined to prosecute, leading Constand to file a civil lawsuit that ended with a settlement and confidentiality agreement. At the time, the District Attorney elected not to pursue charges, and she sued Cosby.

The entertainer was arrested late previous year and charged with sexual assault following accusations by Miss Constand, a former basketball coach.

“Cosby is requesting the court permit him to make accusations and statements regarding the underlying settlement while restricting the ability of the public to scrutinize those accusations”, their response said.

In recent years, dozens of other women have come forward and accused Cosby of sexual impropriety spanning decades.

It’s unclear who represents Boca Raton, Florida-based publisher American Media Inc.

The lawsuit, which was filed under seal in a federal court in Pennsylvania, named Andrea Constand and her attorneys, Dolores Troiani and Bebe Kivitz, the Times reported.

“As a result of Andrea Constand’s breaches of the 2006 Confidential Settlement Agreement, Cosby has suffered serious and irreparable harm that can not be cured by money damages and also has suffered substantial monetary damages, in an amount to be proven at trial”, the complaint states.

The lawsuit is under seal and Cosby’s lawyers would not comment. In that call, which might have been recorded, Cosby allegedly detailed what he did to Cosntand.

His criminal case will return to court March 8 for a preliminary hearing.

Facing criminal prosecution for aggravated indecent assault, a second-degree felony, Cosby’s lawyers argued that he had received a promise from Castor that the case would never be prosecuted.