A former US prosecutor named Bruce Castor gave an extraordinary couple of interviews this week.
Castor investigated comedian Bill Cosby after the man dubbed "America's dad" was accused of drugging and sexually abusing a woman in 2005.
"I thought he did it," Castor told journalists, explaining that he didn't file charges against Cosby at the time, only for a lack of evidence.
After the criminal investigation was dropped, Cosby's alleged victim brought a civil case and her lawyer claimed publicly that no fewer than 13 other women would also testify as being abused in similar ways. The case was settled out of court.
Oddly though, the incident seemed barely to affect Cosby's life. The guy kept making speeches at every opportunity. He performed stand-up. He lent his art to the Smithsonian and last month was unanimously re-elected to a university board of trustees. A new Cosby comedy special had been scheduled to air on Netflix next week, and NBC was developing a new Cosby sitcom. In a truly bizarre reflection of Cosby's public standing, this year he was voted the second-greatest Pennsylvanian in history. The only person to beat him was a guy named Benjamin Franklin.
