Prosecution rests its case in Cosby trial

Prosecutors in Bill Cosby's sex assault trial closed their case Friday, ending five days of evidence and testimony by letting jurors hear the 79-year-old entertainer's admission that he used to get Quaaludes, a powerful sedative, to use in sexual encounters with women.

Prosecutors introduced more of his lurid testimony from a decade ago, when he said he gave quaaludes, a highly popular party drug in the 1970s that was banned in the US, to women before sex.

He is accused of drugging and attacking Constand, now 44, at his Pennsylvania home.

Cosby, who claimed the sexual contact with Constand was consensual, testified in the deposition he began touching Constand and that Constand did not stop him.

Portions of the deposition became public almost two years ago.

If Cosby testifies and prosecutors are then allowed to ask about those other women, said Oliver, the Duquesne University law professor, it would drastically tilt what, in the eyes of the jury, amounts to a "he said, she said" case.

In court, Bill Cosby stands by his word that he didn't tell Andrea Constand's mother, Gianna Constand, he had given her pills because he was "afraid" of the potential "financial consequence" and that he was being recorded. Ms Constand's case is the only one in which Mr Cosby has been charged.

Bill Cosby, center left, listens to his spokesperson Andrew Wyatt, center right, speaks with members of the media as they depart from from Cosby's sexual assault trial at the the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., Friday, June 9, 2017. "But my apology was, my God, I'm in trouble with these people because this is an old man and their young daughter and the mother sees this", he said. Presiding Judge Steven T. O'Neill predicted that jurors will start deliberating early next week.

In the deposition, which became public almost two years ago, Cosby said he gave Constand three half-tablets of the cold and allergy medicine Benadryl.

The prosecution's key witnesses, Constand and another accuser, Kelly Johnson, testified that Cosby gave them unidentified pills to help them "relax".

Legal documents are wheeled into the courtroom for the fifth day of Cosby's sexual assault trial. As NBC News reports, alleged Bill Cosby victim Andrea Constand told law enforcement officers back in 2005 that she is gay.

In a 2005 deposition, Cosby admitted obtaining seven prescriptions for Quaaludes, a disco-era party drug, from a Hollywood gynecologist in the '70s. "I understand the passion from which you bring it".

If convicted of the charges at trial Cosby, an entertainment icon who remains free on 10 percent of $1 million bail, faces a possible maximum sentence of 15 to 30 years in prison.

She testified that victims of celebrities are often frightened to come forward because of the backlash.

Cosby recounted calling Constand's family and offering her money for graduate school.

The jury also heard more from the prosecution's sexual assault expert witness, Dr. Veronique Valliere, whose testimony the Cosby team has been vigorously trying to prevent. On Wednesday, actress Sheila Frazier and her hairstylist husband, John Atchison, arrived with Cosby.

The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission, which Constand has done. Earlier in the week, Keshia Knight-Pulliam, who played the youngest daughter, Rudy, on "The Cosby Show", attended in support of Cosby.