Bill Cosby has been charged with felony sexual assault over an incident in 2004 at his Philadelphia-area mansion, a Pennsylvania prosecutor said yesterday, in the first criminal case involving the comedian after years of mounting accusations.

While many of Bill Cosby’s accusers feel vindicated by his decade-old admission that he gave at least one woman quaaludes before sex, some of his Hollywood friends are reserving judgment, saying the testimony doesn’t prove he committed a crime.

A scandal-plagued Bill Cosby is returning to the stage tonight for the first time since November.

Comedian Bill Cosby, who has been the subject of over a dozen sex abuse allegations in the past two months, will not be charged in connection with a 1974 molestation claim, said the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office.