In a 13-page brief filed late Thursday, Bill Cosby's attorneys stated that he is now "legally blind" and that his memory has "substantially declined."
Due to his recent health complications, the comedian will likely have difficulty identifying his accusers and most importantly, defending himself.
In December 2015, the Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, district attorney charged Cosby with three counts of aggravated indecent assault for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting former Temple University employee Andrea Constand, now 43, at his Elkins Park mansion in January 2004.
Constand went to authorities a year after the incident, but the then-Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr. declined to file criminal charges.
"How can a 79-year-old blind man defend himself against a claim that he sexually assaulted someone he supposedly met once, half a century ago?" it states in the brief, filed by Cosby attorneys Brian McMonagle and Angela Agrusa.
The brief continued, "The answer is simple: He cannot, and the Commonwealth knows he cannot … Without his eyesight, Mr. Cosby cannot even determine whether he has ever even seen some of his accusers, let alone develop defenses and gather exculpatory evidence. Moreover, Mr. Cosby’s memory has substantially declined in the last decade."
According to the statement, Cosby, 79, has been registered with the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind. A copy of the report will be introduced at a Nov. 1, 2016, case hearing. Cosby has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has denied similar claims from more than 50 women.
His attorneys argue that his case should be dismissed.
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