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LA County District Attorney Declines To File Criminal Charges Against Bill Cosby

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Bill Cosby won't face criminal charges of sexual assault, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced Wednesday.

The District Attorney's Office declined (PDF) to file charges against the 78-year-old actor and comedian for allegations of sexual assault, one of which allegedly occurred in 1965 and the second which happened in 2008.

The 1965 crime happened outside the statute of limitations, so authorities could not prosecute on that allegation, District Attorney's officials said. Detectives did investigate the second allegation, which allegedly happened at the Playboy Mansion at an event called "Midsummer Night's Dream Party," but the crime was ultimately deemed to also be outside the statute of limitations.

Cosby was charged last week in Pennsylvania with drugging and sexually assaulting a woman in 2004 inside his home near Philadelphia, the first criminal case brought against him out of the torrent of allegations that destroyed his good-guy image as America's Dad. His lawyers called the charges unjustified and said they expected Cosby to be exonerated.

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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