Pa. judge rules Bill Cosby must stand trial in sex assault case

Bill Cosby, right, walks to the second floor of the Montgomery County Courthouse on his way to Courtroom A surrounded by Montgomery County police officers in Norristown, Pennsylvania, U.S. on July 7, 2016. (Michael Bryant/Pool/Reuters)

Bill Cosby, right, is surrounded by members of his security team as he walks to Courtroom A in the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania, July 7, 2016. (Michael Bryant/Pool/Reuters)

Bill Cosby is helped by an aide as he returns into Courtroom A in the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania, July 7, 2016. (Michael Bryant/Pool/Reuters)

NORRISTOWN, Pa. — A Pennsylvania judge on Thursday rejected Bill Cosby’s latest effort to have the sexual assault charges against him thrown out, ruling that the 78-year-old comedian must stand trial in the case.

Judge Steven O’Neill rejected arguments from Cosby’s lawyers that prosecutors violated Cosby’s rights by refusing to call the accuser as a witness at a preliminary hearing in May, thus shielding her from cross-examination.

“This case shall proceed to trial on those counts,” O’Neill said at the conclusion of a three-hour hearing in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas.

Once one of the most beloved U.S. entertainers thanks to his family-friendly persona, Cosby is facing accusations of sexual assault from dozens of women stretching back decades. The Pennsylvania case is the only criminal prosecution against him, as most of the other allegations involve incidents that are too old to produce charges.

Cosby, who wore a pinstriped tan jacket and used a cane to walk on Thursday, has denied assaulting anyone and has portrayed the encounter with Constand as consensual.