Prosecutor calls case against Bill Cosby weak

NORRISTOWN, Pa. -- A prosecutor investigating a fondling allegation against comedian Bill Cosby said Wednesday that the woman's yearlong delay in coming forward, and their contact in the past year, weighed in Cosby's favor.

Detectives have interviewed Cosby and expect to know in two weeks whether they will bring charges in response to the allegation he fondled the woman in his suburban Philadelphia home, Bruce L. Castor Jr., the Montgomery County district attorney, said at a news conference.

"I think that factors such as failure to disclose in a timely manner and contacts with the alleged perpetrator after the event are factors that weigh toward Mr. Cosby," Castor said.

The woman went to Canadian authorities Jan. 13, contending Cosby had given her some medication and later fondled her in his Cheltenham Township mansion about a year earlier, after they and others met for dinner.

Castor said the woman's allegations, if true, would constitute a misdemeanor or low-level felony. He said the decision to file charges would come down to whether there was criminal intent.

"In Pennsylvania, we charge people for criminal conduct. We don't charge people with making a mistake or doing something foolish," Castor said.

Cosby and his attorney, Walter M. Phillips Jr., "have been fully cooperative without delay or hesitation," he said.

Phillips has called the allegations "pointedly bizarre" and questioned why the woman waited a year to contact authorities.

The woman, a former basketball standout at the University of Arizona, worked at Temple University in Philadelphia for several years before returning to her native Canada to attend massage school.

Cosby, 67, is a Temple alumnus and booster who frequently attends campus events.

The woman told The Philadelphia Inquirer for a story Wednesday that she came forward because she wanted to do the right thing. "What would you do? I did what I thought was right," she was quoted as saying from her home in Ontario.

It is the policy of The Associated Press not to publish names of alleged sexual assault victims without their consent. A telephone number for the woman's family could not be found, and the AP has not been able to reach her.

The long-married Cosby postponed several appearances after the allegations surfaced last week. His publicist, David Brokaw, said Tuesday that Cosby now plans to keep to his schedule.