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Wednesday, March 27, 2024 | Back issues
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Bill Cosby Ducks Criminal Charges in LA

LOS ANGELES (CN) - Los Angeles County prosecutors said Wednesday they would not file criminal charges against Bill Cosby because sexual assault allegations made by two women are barred by the statute of limitations.

In a charge evaluation sheet issued Wednesday, the District Attorney's office says it reviewed two allegations of sexual assault.

The first was made by a woman who said Cosby, 78, raped her at an unknown Hollywood Hills residence in 1965. The second was made by Chloe Goins, identified in the document as Jane Doe #2, who said the comedian drugged and molested her at the Playboy Mansion in 2008.

The DA's office says it reviewed video of a party at the Playboy mansion where Goins alleged the sexual assault had taken place but found no footage of either Goins or Cosby. Investigators also discovered evidence that Cosby was in New York the weekend of the party.

"They also reviewed guest lists of 56 documented events at the Playboy Mansion in 2008. The suspect did not appear on any guest lists for events held that summer. His name only showed on a guest list for one," the evaluation said.

Investigators were unable to obtain an interview with a friend who Goins said accompanied her to the Playboy Mansion with because the woman "denied knowing Jane Doe #2 or having ever visited the Playboy Mansion."

"Instead, the potential witness directed investigators to another individual who also denied knowing Jane Doe #2," prosecutors said.

In both cases, criminal prosecution is barred by the statute of limitations, the DA's office said.

"Sexual battery by restraint, a felony, was contemplated but there is insufficient evidence to prove the elements of this crime. Sexual assaults by intoxication or of an unconscious victim and the attempts to commit such crimes, as well as assault with intent to commit a sex offense were also considered," the office said of Goins' case. "However, there is no evidence to support the filing of these crimes."

Since 2000, more than 50 women have come forward with sexual assault claims against Cosby dating back to the mid-1960s. In addition to multiple lawsuits, Cosby last week was released on $1 million bail after authorities charged him with aggravated indecent assault in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

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