ABC: Probe focusing on if Cos contact was consensual Philly police investigate leak of confidential

By NICOLE WEISENSEE EGAN weisenn@phillynews.com INVESTIGATORS probing the sexual misconduct allegations made against comedian Bill Cosby have concluded there was sexual contact between the entertainer and the woman, but they are trying to determine whether it was consensual, ABC News reported last night, citing a source close to the investigation. Cosby's version of what happened between him and the woman and his accuser's story are similar in many ways, ABC News reported the source said. The dispute is whether the contact between Cosby and the woman was consensual. David Brokaw, Cosby's publicist, issued a statement for Cosby's attorney, Walter Phillips Jr., that all but dismissed the report. "As the district attorney has stated, Mr. Cosby has been fully cooperative with authorities," Phillips said. "All communication between Mr. Cosby and the authorities are confidential, and we are not going to comment on them. I repeat that the allegations are without merit. " Cosby was interviewed by Montgomery County authorities Wednesday morning. Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr. could not be reached for comment last night. The alleged victim has accused Cosby of drugging and groping her at his Elkins Park mansion last January. Meanwhile, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson has launched an investigation into how a confidential police report about the Cosby case got leaked to the Web site of a nationally syndicated television show yesterday. "I am concerned when confidential information of this nature is put on a Web site," Johnson said last night. "I believe that we must be fair to not only the victim, but also to the accused. Therefore . . . the matter will be looked into. " Late yesterday afternoon, "Celebrity Justice," a show that focuses on celebrities and their criminal travails, sent out an e-mail news release titled, "CJ obtains confidential document in Cosby Case. " The e-mail provided a link to "view the document" on the show's Web site. The site had a photographed copy of a "white paper," or internal police report, put out by the Philadelphia Police Department's Special Victims Unit, which handles sexual-assault cases. The word "Confidential" was handwritten across the top of it. Attorneys for Cosby and the alleged victim had no comment on the document's appearance on the Web site. However, Dolores Troiani, the alleged victim's lawyer, said she was glad that Johnson was investigating. "Obviously, the privacy of victims is paramount in these types of investigations, and I hope he gets to the bottom of it," she said. The document included the name of the alleged victim, her account of what happened, as well as Cosby's exact street address in Elkins Park. A few minutes after it appeared, the alleged victim's name was blacked out. News organizations routinely do not reveal the names of alleged sexual assault victims, although several publications have already published the name of the Cosby accuser. The Daily News has not revealed her identity. Harvey Levin, executive producer of "Celebrity Justice," said it was an accident that the alleged victim's name was not blacked out. "We had a communication issue with the Web site people, but we took it off in about 10 minutes," Levin said. "The name has kind of gotten out there, but we decided not to do it. " Levin would not say how the show obtained the document but said the show did not pay for it. He said he did not see a problem with revealing Cosby's exact address. "There are crews out there camped at his house and star house tours in lots of big cities," he said. The alleged victim first reported the alleged sexual assault to Canadian police, who erroneously referred it to Philadelphia police. They then referred it to Cheltenham Township police, who cover the area where Cosby lives and where she alleges she was groped. Detectives from the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office and Cheltenham Township are spearheading the probe. A decision on whether to prosecute is expected in about two weeks. "Celebrity Justice" airs locally at 3 p.m. on KYW-TV (Channel 3). *