Bill Cosby arrived at the suburban Philadelphia courthouse Monday morning for the start of his sex-assault trial as the attorney representing many of the victims in the case called the day “historic.”
Cosby, who used his cane to walk, was flanked by his publicist Andrew Wyatt, as well as Keshia Knight Pulliam, who played his youngest daughter Rudy Huxtable on “The Cosby Show.”
His wife, Camille, who has stood by the comedian in the wake of the dozens of sexual-assault allegations against him, was not with him.
Cosby smiled but said nothing when someone asked how he was feeling.
Attorney Gloria Allred, sporting a red pantsuit and accompanied by her own camera crew, made the comment Monday morning ahead of opening arguments in the much-anticipated trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania.
Cosby is accused of drugging and molesting Andrea Constand, 44, a former Temple University basketball manager, in 2004 at his home near Philadelphia.
He has said the sex was consensual.
Constand is expected to take the stand this week and tell her story in public for the first time.
Members of the public were lined up as early as 7 a.m. to get their seats in the courtroom.
Cosby, 79, drove over to the courtroom from his Cheltenham home.
The panel of 12 jurors will be sequestered for the roughly two-week trial.
They were selected from nearly 300 miles away in Allegheny County.
On the second day of jury selection, defense lawyers complained about the lack of racial diversity among the jury pool during secret proceedings in judge’s chambers.
Two of the 12 jurors are black. The rest are white.
