Experts in sexual assault and victims' advocates say that the use of so-called “prior bad acts” witnesses are an increasingly vital tool for prosecutors.
January 7, 2020, 10:28 AMA California district attorney accused him of raping a woman in a hotel room and then sexually assaulting another woman days before the 2013 Oscars.Six women are expected to testify that Harvey Weinstein sexually assaulted them at the Hollywood movie producer’s New York City trial, but he is only charged with assaulting two of them.
“They are 100% important, crucial and necessary to provide to the jury that the defendant knew what he was doing, that this was not an accident,” said Kristen Gibbons Feden, one of a trio of Pennsylvania prosecutors who won convictions against Cosby last year. Since in many instances the alleged attacks weren’t reported to police or doctors at the time, physical evidence typically associated with sex assaults is often absent – which can turn conflicting testimony into “he said, she said” sagas, and force jurors to choose who to believe rather than relying on forensic evidence.
“When you look at Andrea Constand, she had all kinds of credibility problems,” University of Colorado law professor and former defense attorney Aya Gruber told ABC News. “Even some of those prior bad acts witnesses -- they were not altogether great witnesses individually.”
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