Attorneys for scandal-scarred comedian Bill Cosby are taking another run at having the criminal case against him dismissed.
After judge Stephen T. O’Neill denied Cosby’s petition to dismiss the charges against him and to have current Montgomery County, Pennsylvania district attorney Kevin Steele removed from the case, Cosby’s legal team filed notice Friday that they are appealing the decision to the Superior Court of Pennsylvania.
Cosby was charged with aggravated indecent assault in December. The charges stem from accusations made by former Temple University employee Andrea Constand, who claims Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her in his Pennsylvania home in 2004. After former Montgomery County Pennsylvania district attorney Bruce Castor declined to pursue criminal charges, Constand filed suit against Cosby in 2005, later settling with him.
Current Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, district attorney Kevin Steele made the Cosby case a prominent part of his campaign for the office last year.
Cosby’s team had argued that the case should be tossed, maintaining that there was an agreement with former Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor that the comedian wouldn’t be prosecuted, an argument O’Neill shot down last week.
Cosby has been accused of rape or sexual assault by dozens of women, many of whom claim he drugged them beforehand. Numerous lawsuits have been filed against the comedian. Cosby has denied the allegations, and in some cases sued his accusers for defamation.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.