Posted on 02/08/2005 12:54:02 PM PST by pissant
TORONTO - The Pickering woman who has accused Bill Cosby of sexual misconduct considered him a "great friend and mentor," and is shattered by his alleged betrayal, her parents say.
"She enjoyed his friendship, his humour and his spirit," Andrea Constand's mother, Gianna, said yesterday. "She found him to be very sincere.
"They were very good friends -- but they were strictly friends. Sometimes people make bad choices and obviously he did," Gianna Constand alleged.
Andy Constand said his daughter, 31, a one-time basketball phenom at Scarborough's Albert Campbell Collegiate who went to the States on a scholarship, felt "violated" by the alleged sexual assault at the star's Philadelphia mansion in January 2004.
She reportedly told police she recalls Cosby touching her breast and placing her hand on his genitals.
She waited a year before filing a complaint, going first to Durham Regional Police Jan. 13. The force turned over the file to police in Cheltenham Township, Pa., where the incident is alleged to have taken place.
Cosby through his lawyer has denied the allegations.
While Andrea Constand has talked with her parents about the accusations, they refused to discuss them.
"She feels a sense of betrayal and feels justice has to prevail," Andy Constand said. "We have to put a stop to this."
Andrea is the "most truthful, honest and faithful kid I've ever met," her 58-year-old father said from their home, on a street with long driveways and sprawling houses.
"She helps people who are poor, people who are sick. She'd give you the shirt off her back," he said, recalling the time his daughter brought home a street person to feed and clothe him.
"She's not the type of person to lie. When she says something, it's the truth."
The Constands said their daughter met Cosby about three years ago, soon after she took up the position of head of the women's basketball program at Temple University, the comedian's alma mater.
An enormous supporter of Temple, Cosby regularly attended games and the two became fast friends, the Constands said.
"She was never impressed by his celebrity," Gianna Constand, 53, said. "She didn't feel it was a big deal.
"He was a great friend and mentor to her. She shared her thoughts with him and he guided her ideas and gave her words of wisdom."
She left her university position in April. After "living and breathing" basketball her entire life -- earning 100 scholarship offers before settling on the University of Arizona and later playing professionally in Sicily -- Andrea decided it was time for change, her folks said.
She returned to live with them and has been studying at a local college to become a registered massage therapist.
Since leaving the States, she's had little contact with Cosby, her parents said, though she did bring them to meet him in August when he performed at Casino Rama in Orillia.
In the last few months, the couple said, they had noticed a change in Andrea's behaviour, but it was only in recent weeks when she came to them with the alleged assault that they understood why.
"There was something wrong with her. She was keeping something inside," her dad said. "We knew something was going on but we didn't know what it was."
"She was distant," her mother added.
Asked why their daughter has only now gone to police, one year later, her dad said he believes it has to do with her massage training.
"They teach about a code of ethics. She's starting to understand that when you violate a person it's not right."
Andy Constand stressed his daughter's decision is not about money.
"We live a good life, have a nice house. I have four cars. We're not it in for the money. Justice has to be served.
"We're shocked and distraught. They were very good friends."
"I can't even begin to explain my feelings," added Gianna Constand, tears welling in her eyes. "We're really having a hard time dealing with this."
Hoops made Andrea a star
Andrea Constand first came to the public's attention as a high school basketball star playing for Scarborough's Albert Campbell Collegiate in the early 1990s.
She was recruited to the University of Arizona for the 1992-93 season by head basketball coach Joan Bonvincini, the department head said yesterday from her office in Tucson.
"She's a good person," said Bonvincini, who last spoke with Constand six months ago. "Andrea has a very outgoing personality. She was very well-liked by her teammates and very well-liked in the community."
Considered one of Canada's best young basketball players, the 6-foot Constand turned down offers from two other U.S. universities, but points in her freshman year were low. After working one-on-one with an assistant coach, who later left the U of A, the rising star's footwork and shooting improved, she started in more games and left in 1996 as a senior guard and top-scoring player.
Bonvincini said "she had a great senior year," but lacked a few points to graduate and left to play basketball in Italy. Two years later, she returned to the University of Arizona and graduated in 1999.
After leaving Arizona again, the coach said her star player landed a mostly academic job in Temple University's athletics department, where "she was a co-ordinator of operations."
Declining comment on the allegations against Bill Cosby, Bonvincini said "I hope this all works out well" for her former student.
Comic keeps a low profile
Bill Cosby's lawyer yesterday called accusations of sexual misconduct against his client "preposterous" and questioned why his accuser took a year to come forward.
But Walter Phillips said Cosby has called off several upcoming public appearances because of the controversy.
"Rest assured, Mr. Cosby is not jumping for joy over this," Phillips told the Sun from Philadelphia, after his client postponed a town hall meeting in Cleveland on Thursday and three weekend public shows in Florida.
When Phillips called the Cheltenham Township Police Department in the Philadelphia suburb where Cosby has a home, he said Chief John Norris told him the case was in its infancy.
The accusation against Cosby was forwarded by Durham Regional Police after Andrea Constand, 31, filed a complaint Jan. 13. She told police she delayed her allegations for a year due to Cosby's fame and concerns for her status as an employee at Temple University, Cosby's alma mater.
Cosby, 67, met his 6-foot tall accuser at Temple in his home town while she worked in its athletics department as an operations co-ordinator until last April.
So that's what the kids call these days.
I'd like to know if any of you ladies have had a close male friend who tried to take it a further by coming onto you?
How did you handle it?
This is what he gets for speaking the truth about the state of the minority.
According to some reports he's admitted it but says it was consensual. Her allegation is it was not.
Remember clinton "mentoring" Monica...
He was ministering to a troubled young girl
I love it when a lawyer denies an event took place even though he wasn't there.
Her family seems pretty wealthy to begin with. I doubt it.
Isn't this called a he said/she said situation?
Just about every woman I know has had at least one incident similar to this. I don't know anyone who has sued or talked to the press about it
As I said, there's a report he's admitted the physcial contact with her but says it was consensual.
Time will tell if that is correct or not. If you're asking me why he'd admit it, I can think of several reasons but I'd be speculating.
I was thinking about that and I guess it depends if some threat or coercian to keep it quiet was made. I know in my case pushing away and "stop" did the trick and never seeing that person again.
I have NOT heard that threat or coercian has been alleged in this case, at least to this point.
I'm thinking more of an "Anita Hill" scenario. Bill's gone off the plantation, so somebody is recruited to put him back in his place
Really? Then why did the MOTHER call Cosby, asking for money before any of this came out?
Pay attention, everybody: look whose doing the talking: the mother.
She didn't. According to Greta, the girl never said a word about it; she even called him up last summer or fall and asked him to "comp" some free tickets for her family when he was in Toronto, which he did.
The mother is the one who called Cosby and said she was so traumitzed, maybe he'd like to contribute to some educations funds.
BTW, the family DID pick up the tickets at the will call window.
Is there any truth to the rumors that when Bill Cosby entertains in Las Vegas he's very busy with "the ladies"?
The story keeps changing. I heard the story on tv that the girl had gone home with Cosby to his "mansion" and complained of not feeling well and was given some medication that made her feel out of control and that is when the touching happened. The mother is the one that called Cosby and made the complaint and asked for money and they were trying to keep the girl's name out of it. Nothing makes sense. Cosby wouldn't have to drug some woman to get her "touch him." The whole thing was consensual.
I think men would be amazed if they knew how frequently women get grabbed. It's probably just a small percentage of men out there who are doing the grabbing - but it's a very active small percentage.
This is not to say that I think Cosby did anything. Even if he did, so what. Forgetaboutit. If you can't forget then see a shrink.
A Canadian woman who accused Bill Cosby of drugging and groping her reportedly taped phone calls with him after she reported the offense.
Cosby initiated the calls, and they support her allegations, sources told the Philadelphia Daily News.
~snip~
As Drudge says, developing...
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