Judge sets 2018 date for Cosby retrial on sexual assault charges

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) -- A judge has scheduled a new date for Bill Cosby's retrial on charges he drugged and molested a woman more than a decade ago.

Judge Steven O'Neill on Friday ordered the retrial to begin on April 2. He says jury selection can get underway before then.

The retrial was initially set for November, but last month O'Neill granted a request by Cosby's new lawyers to delay it so they could get up to speed on the case.

The 80-year-old comedian's first trial in June ended in a hung jury.

"The Cosby Show" star is charged with knocking out accuser Andrea Constand with pills and sexually assaulting her at his home near Philadelphia in 2004.

He has said the sexual encounter with the former Temple University worker was consensual.