美国国家公共电台 NPR More Than 10 Years After Alleged Sexual Assault, Bill Cosby Trial To Begin

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Some other news now, jury selection in the criminal trial of Bill Cosby begins in Pennsylvania today. It's a year and a half since Cosby was charged with felony counts of sexual assault over a 2004 encounter, which Cosby contends was consensual. Bobby Allyn of member station WHYY reminds us how this case came to light.

BOBBY ALLYN, BYLINE¹: Associated Press reporter Maryclaire Dale was sick of all the he-said-she-said about Cosby and thought a confidential² deposition³ he did might shed some new light on the allegations. So she asked the judge to make it public.

MARYCLAIRE DALE: This time, the judge said that, you know, Cosby's public moralizing about things had made him a public figure and diminished his right to privacy over matters that his lawyer said would be embarrassing for the star.

ALLYN: And the statements Cosby made under oath in that deposition got us to where we are today. Cosby admitted to buying drugs so that he could give them to women he wanted to have sex with.

He also talked about what happened one night in 2004 at his suburban⁴ Philadelphia mansion⁵ with former Temple University employee Andrea Constand. She looked up to Cosby as a mentor⁶. Prosecutors⁷ read this and filed charges. Here's Deborah Tuerkheimer, a legal expert on sex crimes, describing Constand's account.

DEBORAH TUERKHEIMER: She drove to his house to talk about her career. She took the three pills that he offered her. He apparently⁸ said they were an herbal remedy because she was stressed. She drank the wine he gave her, and this left her unable to move or speak.

ALLYN: And that's when the alleged⁹ sexual attack happened. Legal experts say Cosby's defense¹⁰ team will likely try to poke¹¹ holes in Constand's story to try to make her look unreliable, like how she waited more than a year to report the incident to police.

DAVID HARRIS: That can lead to an argument that this just never happened.

ALLYN: David Harris is a law professor at the University of Pittsburgh. He says Cosby's legal team sees it this way.

HARRIS: It was a figment of her imagination, or she made it up in order to extort¹² money from him - because a person who was sexually assaulted would not behave that way.

ALLYN: But Harris says prosecutors can point out that victims of sexual assault often have many reasons to not report something right away, not least of which, in this case, is Cosby's fame and power.

Celebrity¹³, though, didn't stop more than 50 women from publicly accusing Cosby of sexual assault or misconduct. And one of them is expected to take the stand to add to what Constand has to say. Laurie Levenson, law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, says the second accuser's story is critical.

LAURIE LEVENSON: What they're going to focus on is that this was a signature crime, that Cosby had a particular way of drugging his victims and then having sex with him. And so even the testimony¹⁴ of one person - additional person's enough.

ALLYN: Last week, Cosby broke his silence and talked on a Sirius XM radio program. Cosby said he doesn't plan to testify in his trial. The show also aired a clip of his daughter claiming that racism¹⁵ has played a major role in the case. Does Cosby agree? Here's his answer to that.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BILL COSBY: Could be, could be.

ALLYN: Shortly after, he elaborated on whether he thinks racial bias¹⁶ was a factor in his prosecution¹⁷.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

COSBY: Some of it may very well be that.

ALLYN: Legal expert Tuerkheimer says the interview was part of a conscious effort by Cosby's defense team to try to change the optics ahead of the trial. She says its goal is to make Cosby look like the victim.

TUERKHEIMER: I think the hope is that if public opinion shifts outside the courtroom, that percolates¹⁸ into the courtroom.

ALLYN: Tuerkheimer says everyone knows who Bill Cosby is, and lots of people have read about the case. But the trick now will be finding 12 people who haven't made up their minds.

For NPR News, I'm Bobby Allyn in Philadelphia.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

3 deposition   

n.免职，罢官；作证；沉淀；沉淀物

参考例句：

• It was this issue which led to the deposition of the king.正是这件事导致了国王被废黜。
• This leads to calcium deposition in the blood-vessels.这导致钙在血管中沉积。

4 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

5 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

6 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

7 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

8 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

9 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

10 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

11 poke   

n.刺，戳，袋；vt.拨开，刺，戳；vi.戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• We never thought she would poke her nose into this.想不到她会插上一手。
• Don't poke fun at me.别拿我凑趣儿。

12 extort   

v.勒索，敲诈，强要

参考例句：

• The blackmailer tried to extort a large sum of money from him.勒索者企图向他勒索一大笔钱。
• They absolutely must not harm the people or extort money from them.严格禁止坑害勒索群众。

13 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

14 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

15 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

16 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

17 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

18 percolates   

v.滤( percolate的第三人称单数 )；渗透；（思想等）渗透；渗入

参考例句：

• At a low flow rate, fluid merely percolates through the void spaces between stationary particles. 当流速低的时候，流体只是穿过静止的颗粒之间的空隙。 来自辞典例句
• Water percolates through sand. 水由沙中滤过。 来自互联网