Sum was allegedly paid in 2006 to Andrea Constand to close a suit she had brought against the TV star alleging he had drugged and sexually molested her in 2004

By Ed Pilkington from Norristown, PA for TheGuardian.com, April 9

[....] Kevin Steele, the district attorney for Cosby’s home county of Montgomery, revealed a secret that has remained hidden for the past 12 years – the amount of money that the TV star formerly known as “America’s Dad” was prepared to pay to keep his detractor quiet. The $3.4m was allegedly paid in 2006 to Andrea Constand, a Canadian massage therapist, to bring to a close a civil suit she had brought against him claiming he had persuaded her to take relaxant drugs before molesting her while she was unconscious.

The disclosure of the settlement amount came in Steele’s opening statement to the jury in Montgomery county court of common please in Norristown, a small, run-down Pennsylvania community struggling from industrial decline. For the second time in 10 months the town has become inundated with media and protesters drawn to the trial of one of America’s most famous – and once beloved – comedians.