Bill Cosby’s sexual assault trial will last a month, judge says

 NORRISTOWN, Pa. — Bill Cosby's next sexual assault trial will last at least a month — twice as long as the last one, which ended in a hung jury.

The Pennsylvania judge presiding over the case made the announcement during a pretrial hearing on Tuesday. He didn't say why he expected it to be so much longer, but he is considering whether 19 of the comedian's past accusers should be allowed to testify.

Cosby is gearing up for retrial on charges of drugging and molesting a single woman, Andrea Constand. But prosecutors are hoping they get permission to put a string of other women on the stand to show a pattern of predation.

They have given the court a list of 19 women, all of whom allege that Cosby gave them an intoxicant and sexually abused them during encounters that stretch back decades. Cosby says his encounter with Constand was consensual, and has denied accusations by dozens of women who have accused him of a wide range of misconduct.

Last time around, prosecutors wanted 13 women to testify, and the judge allowed just one. But the district attorney is citing a recent appeals court ruling on a particular legal theory as the basis for its motion this time.

 Source : nbcnews