Bill
Cosby's lurid, decade-old testimony about his philandering could do more than
damage what's left of his fatherly image - it could very well be used against
him in court by some of the women who accuse him of sexual assault.
Rocco
Cipparone, a defense lawyer in New Jersey who is not connected to any of the legal
action surrounding Cosby, said Monday that what the comedian said under oath
could wind up hurting him in civil or criminal cases if judges can be persuaded
to rule the testimony admissible.
For Cosby to avoid being damaged by his
own words,
Cipparone said, "you'd have to navigate a virtual minefield."
Bill
Cosby Reveals Tactics for Sleeping With Women, Admits Paying Hush Money in New
Documents
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Dozens
of women have accused Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting them over four
decades, though few of the accusations have begun to play out in court, largely
because the statute of limitations for criminal charges has run out in most
instances.
Authorities
have said one accusation is under criminal investigation in California, and
three others are part of a defamation lawsuit against Cosby in Massachusetts by
women who say they were slandered by his representatives.
Cosby
has denied committing any crimes.
Earlier
this month, a judge sided with The Associated Press and released small excerpts
from a deposition Cosby gave in Philadelphia in 2005-06 as part of a
sexual-assault lawsuit against him that was later settled on confidential
terms.
Over
the weekend, The New York Times published a more detailed account of Cosby's
testimony after obtaining all 1,000 or so pages of his deposition via a court
reporting service. The AP then secured the same material.
Cosby
recounted some of his womanizing in sexually explicit detail and said he gave
women quaaludes in order to have sex with them. He denied giving the powerful
sedatives to women without their knowledge.
He
specifically said that was the case back in the 1970s with Therese Serignese,
one of the women now suing him in Massachusetts. A judge is weighing a request
from Cosby to dismiss the case.
"I
think it's a treasure trove of admissions by Mr. Cosby that self-destructs his
public moralist soapbox," said Joseph Cammarata, the lawyer for Serignese
and the two other plaintiffs.
President
Obama: There's No Way to Revoke Bill Cosby's Medal of Freedom, But Rape Is Rape
Cammarata
said that he expects to use Cosby's deposition in his clients' case if it goes
to trial - and that it's strong evidence. "It's the equivalent of
testifying in court," he said.
Celebrity
lawyer Gloria Allred, who represents several women who say Cosby assaulted
them, said the testimony "demonstrates how deceptive, manipulative and
disgusting that he was."
"It
is no wonder that he fought to keep this deposition, which reveals his
revolting predatory conduct, hidden from public view," she said, "but
the truth is out now, and it will never be hidden again."
Cipparone
said the women who are mentioned specifically in Cosby's testimony could use
his words if they sue.
And
even those not mentioned might be able to find ways to use his testimony to
demonstrate that he has shown a pattern of behavior, especially if he opens the
door by saying something now that contradicts his previous statements under
oath.
Cosby's
lawyer, Patrick O'Connor, told The Philadelphia Inquirer on Sunday that the
publication of information from the transcripts is not fair to his client.
"How
that deposition became public without being court-sanctioned is something we
are going to pursue and deal with very vigorously," he said. "It's an
outrage that the court processes weren't followed here."
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