Cosby jury still deadlocked after marathon deliberation

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They looked more upbeat than previous nights.

After further deliberations, jurors could still return a unanimous verdict. He says he believed a chat with the family from Plymouth Meeting would brighten Cosby's spirits. "I trusted him. Do you understand?"

The third count accuses Cosby of impairing Constand "by administering drugs, intoxicants or other means for the objective of preventing resistance". But some of Cosby's accusers, women who have attended the trial or been on watch for the verdict, left the courtroom in tears.

Her attorneys have said she viewed Cosby as a mentor when she worked as a staffer on the Temple University basketball team more than ten years ago. Prosecutors have suggested he might have given her quaaludes.

The charges involve Cosby's sexual encounter with Andrea Constand, 44, at his suburban Philadelphia home. He told the Pittsburgh-based panel of seven men and five women that even though they appeared to be deadlocked, "Each of you has a duty to consult with one another...if it can be done without violence", he said.

Bill Cosby, center, accompanied by his lawyer Brian McMonagle, walks from the Montgomery County Courthouse during his sexual assault trial in Norristown, Pa., Thursday, June 15, 2017.

Several of the other women who accuse Cosby of molesting them are confronting a half-dozen supporters outside the courthouse. Keshia Knight Pulliam, who played Rudy Huxtable on "The Cosby Show", escorted Cosby into court on the first day of the trial. In clear and firm statements, she said Cosby, a powerful Temple alum, mentored her and took an interest in her career like a father figure.

The jury's note, delivered a few minutes after 11 a.m. on Thursday, raised the possibility that the closely watched case might end in a mistrial, leaving it to prosecutors to decide whether to seek a retrial. The deadlock could result in a hung jury.

"This is an incredible jury that has just acted with incredible dignity and fidelity", O'Neill told the jury as he dismissed them Wednesday night. Cosby has denied every accusation and said his encounter with Constand was consensual.

Constand's lawyer, Dolores Troiani, says only that the jury is "apparently working very hard" to reach agreement on the charges.

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Cosby, 79, was inside the courthouse waiting for the jury verdict on charges of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, then a college administrator, in 2004.

The jury is considering three counts of felony aggravated indecent assault.

Over 50 women have come forward with decades-old allegations of sexual misconduct against Cosby in recent years, but the actor's representatives have always insisted he is innocent.

In that case, Cosby would not be found guilty, nor would he be acquitted.

Attorney Gloria Allred speaks with members of the media during jury deliberations in Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., Thursday, June 15, 2017. Deliberations will resume Thursday morning. He said she didn't show any ill effects from the medicine, nor did she object as he groped her. If found guilty, he could face up to 10 years on each count. She is the only one who has brought him to trial.

"It's simply inappropriate at this time", the judge said, "no matter how long it has been".

The sequestered jury has been at it for more than 27 hours since getting the case Monday.

Throughout the week of deliberation, the jury paused at least six times to review key evidence - including Cosby's admission that he did indeed fondle Constand after giving her pills.

Stuart Slotnick, a NY criminal defense attorney who has been following the case, told USA Today, "A quick verdict will not be a good thing for Cosby".

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