Bill Cosby sat back in his chair, staring up at the courthouse ceiling. Jury selection had just begun in his sexual assault trial – the culmination of years’ worth of allegations that have shaken the comedian’s family-friendly image to its core.

Cosby, the formerly beloved American star of The Cosby Show, has been accused of sexual assault by more than 50 women. He has denied all the allegations.

Only one woman, 43-year-old Andrea Constand, has successfully secured a trial. It is for this trial that dozens of potential jurors poured into Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, on Monday.

The trial is set to begin next month, but thanks to a request from the Cosby team, jurors will be pulled from nearby Allegheny.

Montgomery County is in the midst of a contentious district attorney race between former prosecutor Bruce Castor – who refused to bring charges against Mr Cosby in 2004 – and Assistant District Attorney Kevin Steele, who reopened the case in 2015.

Cosby’s team feared the high-profile election would influence the jury pool.

Because of the odd situation in Montgomery County, jurors in Cosby’s trial will spend the length of the trial sequestered in a hotel room 480 kilometres (300 miles) from home.

They will also face restrictions on their mobile phone usage, TV viewing and reading material, given the abundant media coverage of the case.

Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Winner of his first Emmy for 'I Spy' is Bill Cosby being congratulated by his wife Camille held at Americana Hotel, 1966 Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby in 'I Spy', 1960s Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby in July 1973 in Perth Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor in 'California Suite', 1978 Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby and Elmo in Sesame Street, 1989 Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby poses for a picture with Florence Griffith-Joyner in June 1989 Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Comedian Bill Cosby back in 1992 Rex Features Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby A scene from a 1992 episode of 'The Cosby Show' AP Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby US Monica Seles breaks into laughter as she jokes with comedian Bill Cosby during a celebrity match in the stadium at the US Open for the Arthur Ashe AIDS Challenge on 27 August 1995 Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby meets Toronto Blue Jays' All-Star Joe Carter after the Stars played the Stripes in the Celebrity All-Star game which preceded workouts for the 67th All-Star Game at Veterans Stadium on 8 July 1996 in Philadephia Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Co-hosts Oprah Winfrey and Bill Cosby joke with each other during the opening of the 2000 Essence Awards 14 April 2000 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby jokes with baseball great Hank Aaron after they both received the Presidential Medal of Freedom Award from U.S. President George W. Bush during a ceremony on 9 July 2002 at the White House in Washington Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby poses backstage after winning the 'Bob Hope Humanitarian Award' during the 55th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium on 21 September 2003 in Los Angeles Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby 'Tonight Show' host Jay Leno and comedian Bill Cosby laugh during a surprise visit by Cosby to sign a Harley-Davidson motorcycle that Leno is using to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina at NBC studios on 9 September 2005 in Burbank, California Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby speaks during a taping of 'Meet the Press' at the NBC studios on 14 October 2007 in Washington Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby at the 12th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the John F. Kennedy Center on 26 October 2009 in Washington Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby speaks at the National Action Network's 20th annual Keepers of the Dream Awards gala in New York on 6 April 2011 Reuters Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby during the 100th anniversary celebration of the Beverly Hills Hotel & Bungalows supporting the Motion Picture & Television Fund and the American Comedy Fund, 2012 Getty Images Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby speaks onstage at the Thurgood Marshall College Fund 25th Awards Gala on 11 November 2013 in Washington Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby performs at the Treasure Island Hotel & Casino on 26 September 2014 in Las Vegas

Prosecutors will be looking for any signs of fandom in potential jurors, trial consultant Howard Varinsky told The Associated Press. They’ll be looking for any positive associations with Mr Cosby’s famous movie and television roles, like Cliff Huxtable or Fat Albert.

The defence, meanwhile, will be looking for any personal connections to victims of sexual assault, or any resentment for Cosby’s past political statements.

As the selection process kicked off on Monday, Judge Steven O'Neill asked 100 potential jurors almost 50 questions.

Of that pool, 86 said they had read or heard about the case before. Thirty-four said they had already formed an opinion.

Thirty-five potential jurors said they or someone close to them had been the victim of a sexual assault, and 14 said the nature of the case would affect their ability to make a fair and impartial decision.

Both prosecutors and the defence are allowed to strike as many jurors as they like for cause. Each side can strike an additional seven people during jury selection and three more after alternatives are picked.

Hundreds of people could be interviewed in order to find 12 jurors and six alternates who meet the criteria.

Ms Constand accuses Cobsy of drugging and molesting her during a visit to his home in 2004.

While Cosby has pleaded not guilty, he has admitted in a deposition to having sexual relations with Ms Constand that year, when she served as director of the women’s basketball team at his alma mater, Temple University.

He has also admitted giving Quaaludes, a sedative, to a woman he wanted to have sex with, but has claimed he only gave Ms Constand Benadryl, a hay fever allergy medication.

Of the alleged assault, he said: “I don’t hear her say anything. And I don’t feel her say anything. And so I continue and I go into the area that is somewhere between permission and rejection. I am not stopped."

Ms Constand has claimed she was “in and out” of awareness, “frozen” and “paralysed” throughout the alleged assault.

Cosby is charged with felony aggravated indecent assault, and faces up to 10 years in jail and a $25,000 fine if convicted.