Cosby Canadian accuser calm and focused as trial nears, friends say
NORRISTOWN, Pa. — When Andrea Constand takes the stand in the coming days to break her decade-long silence about Bill Cosby, jurors will hear from a free spirit who devotes her life to family, her French poodle, and her work treating cancer patients and others as a massage therapist.
The Canadian will be the star witness when the comedian dubbed America’s Dad goes on trial Monday in suburban Philadelphia on charges he drugged and sexually assaulted her. Cosby, 79, could get 10 years in prison if convicted.
When they last met, in 2004, Constand was wrapping up a life in basketball that had taken her from the Toronto suburbs to a national title with the University of Arizona to a pro league in Europe and finally a job on the coaching staff at Temple University in Philadelphia, Cosby’s alma mater.
Constand, now 44, has never spoken publicly about the TV star under the terms of a confidential settlement they negotiated in 2006. And her deposition from that lawsuit remains sealed. Yet friends say she is ready to face Cosby and the crush of media in the courtroom.