Prosecutor Reveals Bill Cosby Paid Accuser Andrea Constand Nearly $3.4 Million In 2006

During Bill Cosby‘s retrial for sexual assault, a new detail came to light: Cosby paid Andrea Constand, his accuser, $3.38 million to settle her 2005 lawsuit.

In 2004, Constand accused him of drugging and molesting her. The two reached a settlement, but the amount was never disclosed until now.

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The settlement, which was not revealed during his first trial, will play a large role in this month’s retrial as both sides will try to use it to support their case.

District Attorney Kevin Steele highlighted settlement in his opening statement. He suggested that Cosby wouldn’t have paid out so much money if the accusations against him were false. The prosecutors will have to try to convince the jurors to look past the amount given in the settlement and focus on how Cosby abused his role as Constand’s mentor and slipped her a sedative pill, making her unable to stop his sexual advances.

“This case is about trust,” Steele told the jury. “This trust is about betrayal.”

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On the other end, Cosby’s lawyers said they intended to use the settlement to argue that Constand falsely accused him in hopes of receiving a large sum of money from the settlement.  They are also hoping to use the settlement to show that Constand had falsified the events to become a greedy schemer who is attempting to get money out of a wealthy celebrity. They will also emphasize how she maintained contact with Cosby after the incident and took nearly a year to report it to the authorities.

The former comedian is currently in a retrial due to the fact that the jury for his first trial were stuck in a deadlock. He is currently facing three counts of aggravated indecent assault, each being punishable up to ten years.