New Pennsylvania AG was prosecutor who didn't charge Bill Cosby

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The former county prosecutor taking over for Pennsylvania's convicted attorney general is a central figure in the Bill Cosby case, having chosen a decade ago not to charge the entertainer with sex assault and then saying the decision was binding when called to the witness stand this year by Cosby's lawyers.

Bruce Castor Jr., 54, took the oath today as the state's top law enforcement official. He is succeeding – for no more than a few months – Attorney General Kathleen Kane, a Democrat who is resigning after her conviction on charges she abused the powers of her office by leaking secret grand jury information to smear a rival and then lied under oath to cover it up.

Castor served two terms as the district attorney in Montgomery County, in suburban Philadelphia, before becoming a county commissioner. This past fall he made an unsuccessful bid to return as the county's top prosecutor in a race in which he was criticized by his opponent for not pursuing charges against Cosby in 2005.

The district attorney-elect ended up filing a felony sex assault charge against Cosby, the married comic once known as "America's Dad" for his portrayal of Dr. Cliff Huxtable on his top-ranked 1980s TV show. Cosby has denied any wrongdoing.

Castor emerged as a key witness at a hearing in February at which Cosby's lawyers tried to have the comedian's case thrown out.

Castor testified that he had promised Cosby that he would never be charged over a former Temple University employee's allegation that he molested her at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. But a judge rejected his claim after prosecutors cited inconsistencies in Castor's accounts and challenged his credibility.