The Cos case has been closed.
A Pennsylvania prosecutor announced Thursday that no charges will be filed against Bill Cosby stemming from a woman's accusation that he drugged and fondled her a year ago.
A monthlong investigation found that "insufficient credible and admissible evidence exists upon which any charge against Mr. Cosby could be sustained beyond a reasonable doubt," said Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor in a statement. "A conviction...would be unattainable."
Cosby's accuser was a 31-year-old woman who met the entertainer through her former job at Temple University--his alma mater. She claims that, following dinner with others at a restaurant in January 2004, Cosby invited her back to his suburban Philadelphia home. While there, she complained of stress and tension and, she says, Cosby gave her some pills that made her dizzy. She alleges that he then touched her breasts and placed her hand on his genitals.
The woman, who has asked that her identity be kept secret, eventually quit her job at Temple and returned to her native Canada to attend massage school. She finally came forward to Canadian authorities on Jan. 13. The case was then transferred back to Pennsylvania.
Cosby, 67, maintained his innocence from the outset. "Mr. Cosby looks forward to moving on with his life," attorney Walter M. Phillips Jr. said in a brief statement Thursday.
Castor hinted last month that the yearlong delay between the purported groping and the accuser's allegation damaged her credibility. The woman also introduced Cosby to her parents some eight months after the alleged incident--another strike to her case.
According to Thursday's statement, investigators spent the past weeks questioning Cosby, his accuser, their family, friends and coworkers, as well as Cosby's employees. Detectives also went through Cosby's home looking for possible evidence.
The D.A. said he even looked into past allegations that Cosby "behaved inappropriately--presumably including statements made last week to the Philadelphia Daily News by a model turned lawyer who claimed Cosby tried to drug and grope her 30 years ago. (Phillips said the comedian never heard of the woman and "the incident she describes did not happen.")
Cosby has been married to wife Camille for 41 years. In 1997, the erstwhile Cliff Huxtable did cop to CBS' Dan Rather to once having an affair in the 1970s but said had been faithful to Camille since then.
If there were enough evidence, Cosby would, at the worst, have faced a misdemeanor or low-level sexual-harassment count, according to Castor.
Dolores M. Troiani, the attorney for the accuser, slammed the D.A. for announcing his decision in a press release rather than informing her first, which she claims is required under state law. She also said she believes her client has a very strong case, including taped phone conversations between Cosby and his accuser.
Castor declined further comment, saying he didn't want to provide fodder for a civil suit, which requires a lower standard of proof. But he did encourage both parties to "resolve their dispute from this point forward with a minimum of public rhetoric."
Last month, the accuser's father told the Toronto Sun that the family didn't have plans for a lawsuit. "We're not in it for the money," the father told the newspaper. "Justice has to be served."