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Historic Flooding Hit the U.S.; Affluenza Teen and Mom to Return to the U.S. Today; Bill Cosby Charged with Sexual Assault; Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired December 30, 2015 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[10:00:01] ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have seen the water here inching closer to us. The Meramec River is what you're looking at. It is flooding these buildings. There's also homes on the other side that are completely surrounded by water. Several feet of water. Hundreds of residents have already evacuated. There is a shelter that is open in town for those who have been displaced.

And officials here tell me that so far at least 400 homes and businesses have flooded. That number likely to rise since this river isn't expected to crest until sometime tomorrow. And the floodwaters are likely to be an issue not just here in Pacific but also in several other communities around Missouri.

I want you to listen to what some people in West Alton, Missouri, had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is -- this is where we live. This is -- this is it. This is what we've been through.

MAYOR WILLIAM RICHTER, WEST ALTON, MISSOURI: Normally, something comes in, and you've got, you know, a week or so to prepare what's going on. And this is just instantly here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACHADO: And that was the big challenge for people here. They're used to flooding, but they're not used to the water rising so quickly without much warning. That was the mayor, by the way, of West Alton. That's about 50 miles from where we are. And it's another community that is also being affected by these floods, Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Alina Machado, keeping an eye in it for us. Thank you very much.

I want to go upstream now to Valley Park. That's where our meteorologist Jennifer Gray is.

You were telling me last hour, Jennifer, the flooding there way above the historic '93 flood, right?

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we've actually broken a record this morning, now standing at almost 41 feet. We're expected to go to 43 by midnight tonight. Sometime between midnight and 6:00 a.m. That's a good three feet above the record.

Flood stage is 16 feet, and we are now at 40. So you can imagine. Look behind me. Look at all of this water. This is actually Highway 141. It runs perpendicular to Interstate 44, which a huge section of that has been completely closed off. All of these signs are under water. And this is not standing water. It is actually rushing through here.

We've seen barricades. We've seen all sorts of things just being pulled with the current. And then a lot of it just sucked completely under water, never seeing it again. So there is a huge problem here around this area. We've talked to a couple of the residents. One lady in particular who evacuated earlier today, listen to what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANIE KLOECKNER, VALLEY PARK, MISSOURI RESIDENT: I mean, my house is on a hill, but our street, once I got out, it was just already flooded. And I was just, like, I have to get out because I have actually a New Year's Eve party to go to tomorrow. So I wanted to get out so I could get out.

I just hope all my friends in Valley Park, they can get out safely and they don't have too much damage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRAY: She actually has something to look forward to. A lot of people here will have some rough days ahead cleaning up. This is not going to last just a couple of days. It is going to be weeks, even months. This water is going to be slow to recede. And then there will be a mess. Businesses, homes completely under water. A lot of the people we talked to that were here for the '93 floods, they say that it is worse in this area than it was then. They said back in '93, they never thought they would ever see it again, and they are reliving those days, unfortunately.

So much water and nowhere to go, Poppy. That's basically how this happened. St. Louis has had a record-breaking year as far as rainfall goes. They've received 61 inches this year. Normal is 40 inches. So well above normal. They've received 11 inches of rain in December alone. And so all of that water flows into the streams, the rivers, eventually meeting here at the Meramec River and they'll eventually flow into the Mississippi.

So not just the St. Louis area seeing problems. We'll eventually see problems in the coming days in places like Paducah, Little Rock, Memphis and Points South as all of this water flows downstream of the mighty Mississippi -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Mighty indeed. What a devastating situation for all of those people.

Jennifer Gray live for us there. Thank you so much. Also want to show you really compelling new video this morning from

the so-called case of the affluenza teen who fled to Mexico with his mother. ABC News showing this video of Ethan Couch and his mother at a butcher shop in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. This was taken just two hours, we're told, before they were captured by authorities there earlier this week.

Couch and his mother expected to be extradited to the United States today. Meantime, you've got the Texas district attorney in this case revealing Ethan Couch may face only four months in prison. His mother could spend two to 10 years if she is convicted.

CNN's Ed Lavandera with me now from Dallas.

Ed, you've got the sheriff, Dee Anderson, speaking out about the case on "NEW DAY." First of all set the scene for our viewers who aren't familiar with the case and what the sheriff said about it today.

[10:05:12] ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Texas officials expecting the return of Ethan and Tonya Couch back here to Texas at some point today. A U.S. official telling us that that is supposed to happen at some point. And when that does, as you mentioned, Tonya Couch, the mother of Ethan Couch, will immediately be charged with interfering with the apprehension of this juvenile fugitive. She faces up to 10 years in prison on that felony charge.

And the bigger question now is, Poppy, what exactly is going to happen with Ethan Couch? Technically, he has not committed a crime here. He has just violated the terms of his probation. And the prosecutors in Fort Worth, Texas, what they're trying to do is move Ethan's case. This is all under the juvenile system, and that's what much of the outrage here has been is that essentially in that drunk driving accident that resulted in the death of four people, Ethan Couch had three times the legal limit of alcohol in his system.

He got 10 years probation for that crime. And obviously that is the stem -- as much of this -- the cause of the outrage in all of this. So prosecutors are trying to move his case into the adult system, which they say will give them much harsher punishment options in the future if he were to violate his probation again. And the sheriff did tell us yesterday that he wasn't surprised to hear that Ethan and his mother were found together.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF DEE ANDERSON, TARRANT COUNTY, TEXAS: During our investigation, we received some -- talked to some people who said that there was a gathering which was likened to a -- akin to a going-away party before they fled the country. Again, it just, to me, shows the arrogance of the family, that they don't believe the law applies. They thumb their nose at authority again and, you know, hold a party, if you will, before they decide to leave the country and bid everyone farewell like they were leaving on a cruise or something.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LAVANDERA: You know, so those authorities are still trying to piece together exactly the details. They wouldn't share a lot of information about that party, what the sheriff describes as essentially that going-away party done the night before Tonya Couch and Ethan Couch drove in their pickup truck from Fort Worth to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, there on the Pacific Ocean. But they do say that they had some contacts that were giving them information, and that led them to Mexico. With the help of Mexican authorities down there, they were able to find them in that apartment complex, that apartment building in the center of town -- Poppy.

HARLOW: All right. Ed Lavandera live in Dallas. Ed, thank you very much for that.

I want to discuss further the legal implications here. CNN legal analyst Danny Cevallos is with us, also Philip Holloway is with us.

Thank you both for being here.

Danny, to you first, when you look at the situation of the fact that Ethan Couch was tried in juvenile court, obviously most Americans outraged that he didn't get any time in jail for killing four people, severely injuring two others. Could he now be tried as an adult?

DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: No. Technically, all he's done is violate probation. And he's technically --

HARLOW: Isn't that breaking the law?

CEVALLOS: It's breaking a probation order. And remember, he's not in adult court. He's in juvenile court. And unless and until he is transferred, which in Texas, you can be transferred to adult court, but he is still in juvenile court. While you are still in juvenile court, there is a maximum amount of punishment that can be given by the judge. In this case, it's about 120 days. He maxes out --

HARLOW: He's 18 years old.

CEVALLOS: Well, he maxes out at 19 in the juvenile system. However, if he were an adult, if he were transferred to the adult system, it's an entirely different game. When that happens, then probation can be revoked, and now we're looking at many, many years, possibly decades when you are a criminal defendant who violates probation.

I've said it many times. Any criminal defense attorney will tell you, as an adult probationer, the last thing you want to do is go before a back judge and explain why you violated that judge's trust who put you on probation in the first place.

HARLOW: Philip Holloway, to you, the sheriff there, Dee Anderson, he came out when these two disappeared, and he said, look, we will hunt you down, we will find you. They did. And then he spoke earlier about this potential sentence of only 120 days for Ethan Couch. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ANDERSON: Welcome to juvenile law in Texas, you know. It's designed, obviously, in most cases for juveniles to be rehabilitated and to think of the well-being of the child, and it doesn't really take into account a terrible crime like that was committed here with the loss of life of four innocent people. Again, I'll say it, we haven't seen the last of him in our legal system here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Philip, what's your reaction to his point?

PHILIP HOLLOWAY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Poppy, good morning. Good morning, Danny. Obviously the sheriff is very frustrated as are very many Americans. In fact, federal tax dollars were used and a lot of them in an effort to track down this mother and her son all the way in Mexico.

[10:10:06] Now Danny is absolutely correct with regard to the way the state criminal process is going to work and unfold for Ethan Couch. However, if there were a desire by the U.S. federal authorities, the Justice Department, the Federal Fugitive Act which authorizes the Marshal Service to get involved in apprehending state fugitives in the first place is, in fact, a federal penal law.

And if they decide that they want to use it, hypothetically, these two could find themselves in federal court facing a federal felony. And that would actually add quite a bit to what the young man might be facing in terms of incarceration.

HARLOW: Danny, to you. If you were defending them?

CEVALLOS: If I'm defending them, well --

HARLOW: Once they're in court.

CEVALLOS: What Philip said is absolutely correct because the reality is virtually anything is a federal crime under federal law. So yes, there are potential federal charges. How do you defend a probationer who's violated their probation? It's a different tactic. In many cases, criminal defense attorneys appearing in court on a probation violation are essentially making the argument please be nice. Don't hurt me too bad, judge.

HARLOW: Yes, but this is a whole lot of background and baggage to this case.

CEVALLOS: It does, but remember, we are still talking about a defendant who is in juvenile court in the juvenile system where the primary objective is treatment, rehabilitation, supervision. Now, Texas, I will say, in the last few years, Texas -- people were not happy with the fact that you had a juvenile system and an adult system. So they have sort of a blended system now which allows for a juvenile to be transferred or sort of eased into the adult system and punished like an adult for adult-like crimes.

So we are moving away from this juvenile model where no matter what, if you're under a certain age, you cannot be punished as an adult. Clearly, throughout all the states, we're seeing a trend towards punishing juveniles as adults when they do adult-type crimes.

HARLOW: All right. Danny Cevallos, thank you very much. Philip Holloway, thank you, as well.

I want to show you this now, some live pictures of a podium in Pennsylvania where at any moment we are expecting an official from the district attorney's office to speak about the investigation there into Bill Cosby. We're hearing that there may be a decision made on any charges that may be filed against the former comedian. We will take you there live when it happens. I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Breaking news. You're listening to a press conference in Norristown, Pennsylvania, by the Montgomery County district attorney, Kevin Steele, talking about a sexual assault charge from 2005 against Bill Cosby.

KEVIN STEELE, MONTGOMERY COUNTRY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: -- Cosby's home in Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County. Mr. Cosby is charged with aggravated indecent assault. This is a felony of the first degree. Mr. Cosby's attorney has been notified of the charges, and he is expected to be arraigned later this afternoon. When we have a specific time for that, we'll let you know, and that's going to be at the district judge's office in Elkins Park.

The charges today are filed as a result of new information that came to light in July of 2015. The statute of limitations in this type of case is 12 years. After determining that the statute of limitations regarding potential criminal offenses had not yet expired, the investigation was reopened. Working with Chief Norris and the Cheltenham Township police, Montgomery County detectives and prosecutors from our office, our team reviewed the initial investigation, re-interviewed some of the witnesses, examined evidence from the civil case and information from other alleged victims.

[10:15:00] The evidence shows Mr. Cosby established a relationship with the victim after meeting her through her work associated with Temple University's Women's Basketball Program. Through the course of their association, the victim came to consider Mr. Cosby her mentor and her friend.

On two other occasions before the incident leading to the criminal charge in this case, Mr. Cosby made two sexual advances at her that were rejected. On the evening in question, Mr. Cosby urged her to take pills that he provided to her and to drink wine. The effect of which rendered her unable to move, respond to his advances, and he committed aggravated indecent assault upon her.

Now prosecutor's job is to follow the evidence wherever it takes us. And sometimes that means whenever it comes to light. When U.S. federal judge Edward Rebrano unsealed legal filings that contained references to the civil deposition and we learned about allegations from other victims under similar circumstances, reopening this case was not a question. Rather, reopening this case was our duty, as law enforcement officers, with a sworn obligation to uphold our constitutions and to uphold the law. Today, after examination of all the evidence, we are able to seek justice on behalf of the victim.

Now, going forward, and we ask that anyone that has any information regarding any similar incidents with Mr. Cosby come forward. We ask them to contact either the Montgomery County Detective Bureau here or Cheltenham Township Police. At this point, I will take questions.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you know anything yet about the legality of getting that deposition submitted as evidence in this case? I know there was some question about that earlier one.

STEELE: Well, I can't at this point. You know, there's going to certainly be motions that will be filed in the case and matters to be litigated. I can't give you a determination of how that is going to result. But the depositions were released by the federal court judge, and we examined them and examined other evidence that we were able to obtain in this case. Other questions.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The arraignment is here or in Elkins Park?

The arraignment will be in Elkins Park, and we don't have a specific time. I anticipate it may be around 4:00 p.m. today.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: He will visibly be there or is it --

STEELE: He has to appear at an arraignment before the District Judge McHugh, and he'll be arraigned by her. It's her jurisdiction.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Have you been in contact with any of the other Cosby accusers for potentially testifying in this case?

STEELE: Well, I'm not going to get into specifics of the investigation at this point, but it's outlined in the affidavit of probable cause that there are other alleged victims, and we are examining evidence in that, and again, as to the prior question, it's going to be looked at in terms of motions that will be filed down the line here.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Other alleged victims but not in Pennsylvania, not in Montgomery County, correct?

STEELE: This is -- the charge that we are proceeding on here today involves one victim, involves a victim that went to Mr. Cosby's home in Cheltenham in early 2004. There is one charge that is filed, aggravated indecent assault, which is a felony of the first degree.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Has the victim indicated she'll be willing to testify at trial?

STEELE: She has indicated she'd be willing to cooperate with us going forward.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What was her reaction when you told her that today you're going to file charges? STEELE: I didn't speak to her specifically, so I can't give you an

answer to that.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Any other charges?

STEELE: One charge, aggravated indecent assault. There is a statute of limitations as to that charge, which is within 12 years, and that is the charge that we filed. There's separate sections under that that have been filed, and it is one charge.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Can you discuss, though, the use of the drugs? Does that play into the charges in terms of the aggravated factor, or is that not part of the charges?

STEELE: All right. So the charge is aggravated indecent assault.

[10:20:04] And the breakdown of that statute is, number one, a person commits some type of vaginal penetration, digital penetration, and the person does so without the complainant's consent. You know, so that's one. The second aspect, the complainant was unconscious or the person knows that the complaint is unaware, that the penetration is occurring. Five, the person is substantially impaired -- the complainant's power to appraise or control his or her conduct by administering or providing drugs or other intoxicants or other means for the purpose of presenting -- preventing, excuse me resistance. So that's the breakdown of the statute.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Were there any charges you couldn't seek because of the statute of limitations?

STEELE: This is the -- this is the central charge in the case. It's aggravated indecent assault, which is a felony of the first degree, and that's where --

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You couldn't seek because of the statute of limitations has run out?

STEELE: Well, we're not looking at other charges at this point because this is the charge that we have the ability to go forward on under the statute of limitations.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: So has it become complicated for the prosecution given that apparently the victim continued to have at least a social relationship with Mr. Cosby after the incident?

STEELE: I -- I'm not sure -- I'm not sure what you're -- I'm not sure what you're referring to at this point. There's, you know, investigative materials that we've gone through, and we've looked through a lot of evidence in this case to make the determination that we have. When you look at the case, there is a number of aspects that are undisputed in the case. And, you know, and that has led to the charges that are being brought forth today here.

There's not a question in terms of, you know, pills being provided to her. There's not a question as to the occurrence of what went on of the digital penetration. And we've gotten that from statements, from depositions, so, you know, that led us to today and the filing of charges of aggravated indecent assault.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Can you say anything about the decision not to prosecute him 10 years ago and how -- and why you were able to make this decision and why Mr. Cosby wasn't?

STEELE: I'm not -- I'm not going to look at the past or actions that weren't taken at that point. You know, it's not a time to Monday morning quarterback. We have examined the evidence in this case. We have made determinations in regard to it that the evidence is strong and sufficient to proceed at this point, and we are proceeding with the charge of aggravated indecent assault.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And did you say specifically what was in the deposition that sort of opened the door to this investigation?

STEELE: Well, there were a number of aspects, but if I can refer you to the affidavit of probable cause, which I know is extensive, so I don't know how far everybody's gone through, but there were specific questions in regard to using Quaaludes, and I think that's been widely reported, and that's a significant factor in making a determination. The detectives followed the evidence where it led them. We examined all the evidence that we had available to us, made this determination because it was the right thing to do.

All right. One more.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you believe that it was Quaaludes used in this case?

STEELE: If you look at the affidavit of probable cause and particularly when you work to the conclusionary aspects of the case, what we know is that pills were provided. There's inconsistencies on what type of pills they were. There was also wine that was provided. We then go to the reaction of the victim. You know, frozen, paralyzed, unable to -- unable to move. A person in that state cannot give consent. Therefore the aggravated indecent charge.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE)

STEELE: Well, only the person providing that material to the victim knows exactly what was provided to her. All right. Thank you very much.

HARLOW: All right. There you have it. This is a huge moment. This is the first time that charges have been officially filed against Bill Cosby in one of the sexual assault cases that he has been accused of. Again, you just heard a press conference from Norristown, Pennsylvania.

[10:25:01] The Montgomery County District Attorney, Kevin Steele, saying that they have found new evidence in July of this year to bring charges of aggravated indecent assault against Bill Cosby in the case of Andrea Constand. The case of this alleged sexual assault was in 2004. The D.A. at the time in 2005, Bruce Castor, opted not to bring criminal charges. This D.A. saying we found new evidence, saying the victim here will

cooperate and that Bill Cosby will be arraigned later today around 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time in Pennsylvania.

We have full team coverage. Our Jean Casarez who has been following this throughout is with us. She'll break it down. Our criminal defense attorney, CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson, Danny Cevallos.

Jean, let me begin with you. How big is this?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, this is huge. This is the first time that Bill Cosby has ever been charged criminally with sexual assault. I just got off the phone with Dolores Troiani, who is the attorney and has been for the last decade of Andrea Constand. She tells me that they thank the district attorney's office for this. They are putting their faith in the criminal justice system now. She also told me, because I asked Andrea's feelings, because she is the alleged victim in all of this.

HARLOW: Right. And she's the first one to come forward.

CASAREZ: She is the first one, and she is in Canada -- she lives in Canada, but she, Dolores tells me, is so grateful for the confidence that this district attorney is placing in her because this is her story.

HARLOW: Because let's remember, when she first brought her story to authorities in 2004, 2005, they said there's not enough evidence.

CASAREZ: That's right.

HARLOW: And they didn't charge --

CASAREZ: Bruce Castor did not --

HARLOW: Right.

CASAREZ: Did not charge.

HARLOW: Did not charge. But now --

CASAREZ: A decade ago.

HARLOW: The statute of limitations is 12 years, so they are still within that window.

CASAREZ: And we knew they were, and we knew that time was running out. We knew that at the end of January that that was about the time would be running out. And you know, there's been so much political wrangling, and I say that objectively, in all of this, the district attorney, Reesa Fuhrman, was running for judgeship, and Bruce Castor who did not bring charges was running for the district attorney's office in that county. He lost. And the man that won --

HARLOW: We just saw Kevin Steele who won.

CASAREZ: Yes.

HARLOW: Jean, can you walk us through the facts? I know that she was an employee at the time, back in 2004. Andrea Constand was an employee at Temple University, formed a friendship with Bill Cosby. He was sort of a mentor to her.

CASAREZ: It's the story that we've seen repeated over and over again. She was an employee in the Athletic Department of Temple University. Bill Cosby mentored her. He was someone that believed in her, appeared to believe in her. And so got her trust in all of that. And as we just heard today in the press conference, there were two prior -- two sexual advances that she refused. And then the third one of an evening in 2004 was when the prosecutor is now alleging that she was given pills, which rendered her unable to consent and unable to say no.

And that is when there was a sexual assault. And we do know the charge, and it is a singular charge, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault in the first degree.

HARLOW: OK. So for some legal analysis -- Jean, thank you so much. Stay with us for all of this.

Joey Jackson, to you --

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Here's the reality. Jean talks about the charge itself. We're talking about a charge that carries 10 years in jail. Look at Cosby's age. He's 78 years of old. Now Jean also mentions the politics behind this. A lot of politics involved in the actual election of this, and it was really foreseen that if this person, Steele, who we see won, that this would be the result. Why? Castor, the former D.A. at the time, said I find insufficient evidence. Well, perhaps you found insufficient evidence because you didn't look hard enough.

In addition to that, I should say, that there's a defamation suit by the victim here, Constand, against the former D.A., Castor, for politically saying that her story's been inconsistent. So we'll see what that has to do. But in terms of the facts here, I mean, it's compelling because what we're essentially talking about is penetration without the consent of the victim.

HARLOW: Right.

JACKSON: And as a result of that, you get to that second-degree felony. You get to the indecent exposure. You get to 10 years in jail if convicted.

HARLOW: So, Danny, to be clear, and we're getting the last statement from Bill Cosby, he hasn't made any statement since through his attorneys on these new charges. He has consistently said through his attorneys, I have not been charged with any crime. I have not been charged with any crime. Today he was charged with a crime. A very, very serious crime.

CEVALLOS: Very serious. And as this case progresses, it will educate viewers about different kinds of sex crimes. What is aggravated indecent assault? Well, in Pennsylvania, that crime focuses not on rape, which is actually about intercourse in most cases, as a general proposition, but instead, aggravated indecent assault focuses on penetration which is a nuanced difference, which means -- what does that tell us about what the prosecution believes?

It means they must not believe that there was intercourse or maybe they believe they can only prove penetration. As we read their affidavits of probable cause, that will tell us more and more information as time goes on.