Bill Cosby To Plead The Fifth On Assault Allegations, Fears He Could Be Prosecuted Again

Bill Cosby

Bill Cosby To Plead The Fifth On Assault Allegations, Fears He Could Be Prosecuted Again

While Bill Cosby was released from a Pennsylvania prison back in June, he doesn’t plan on speaking on the assault claims against him for fear that it could lead to prosecution against him.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, he’ll plead the fifth.

The decision comes after Bill Cosby’s legal team stood before a judge earlier this week, the first time since his controversial release. The issue, heard in the Los Angeles Superior Court, concerned Judy Huth’s allegations that the disgraced actor sexually assaulted her at the Playboy Mansion back in 1974. She was 15 years old at the time.

She first filed the civil lawsuit against him in 2014 and even though he sat down for a deposition back then, he declined to answer questions. That case was soon pushed down the list of actions against Bill Cosby as he fought a criminal case for assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004, which ultimately lead to his conviction. Now that the conviction is reversed, Bill Cosby can testify in Huth’s case, but his lawyer Michael Freedman said he has no plans to. Instead, Freedman informed the judge that Cosby would rather plead the fifth and not talk about the alleged assaults.

A status conference report reads,

“Defendant does not agree that merely because the Pennsylvania Supreme Court vacated Defendant’s criminal conviction for a single offense, allegedly arising from an incident that occurred in 2004, Defendant no longer enjoys a Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.”

It goes on to suggest that Cosby is keeping his silence to avoid further prosecution.

“This is particularly so where numerous states have no criminal statutes of limitations for sex crimes. It is well-settled that the Fifth Amendment protects both the innocent and the guilty. Having already been forced to face a malicious criminal prosecution that resulted in an unlawful three-year incarceration, Defendant is not confident that such a risk does not still exist in this jurisdiction and others.”

Freedman goes on to explain,

“Indeed, prior to a stay being entered in this case, LAPD claimed that the Huth matter is an open criminal investigation. Thus, Defendant anticipates that if he is forced to sit for a deposition, he will exercise his Fifth Amendment guarantees absent a court order ruling that he has no Fifth Amendment right in this jurisdiction or any others.”

The report also points out that at the top of last year, California civil law was changed to let victims of childhood sexual abuse take legal action once they’re an adult and within five years of finding that they suffered psychological damage due to the assault.

Considering Huth was a minor at the time, the updated legislation could apply in this case.

Cosby’s lawyer seemed to concede that the amended law could take effect in cases like Huth’s. Still, he reportedly plans to challenge whether the amended law is constitutional and infringes on due process, especially in a case that is 50 years old.

What are your thoughts on Bill Cosby pleading the fifth out of fear of prosecution? Comment and let us know.