Cosby’s accuser denies they were romantically involved

The woman who accuses Bill Cosby of drugging and violating her more than a decade ago stood by her story at his sex-crimes trial Wednesday, withstanding hours of often tedious cross-examination that didn’t produce the stumbles the TV star might have hoped for.

[...] she explained away the numerous phone calls they had afterward by saying she was merely returning Cosby’s messages about the women’s basketball squad at Temple University, where he was a powerful member of the board of trustees and she was director of team operations.

Constand, 44, left the witness stand after about seven hours of testimony over two days, during which she told the jury that Cosby gave her three blue pills and then penetrated her with his fingers as she lay paralyzed on a couch, unable to tell him to stop.

During one exchange, Cosby lawyer Angela Agrusa suggested that Constand once enjoyed a romantic dinner at Cosby’s home before the alleged assault.

Agrusa contended that the advances Cosby made on Constand on two occasions — touching her thigh one time, and attempting to unbutton her pants and pull down her zipper another — signaled his romantic interest.

Cosby is charged with aggravated indecent assault.