PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Bill Cosby’s youngest daughter has come to the comedian’s defense ahead of a looming sexual assault trial.

Evin Cosby writes in an opinion piece for the National Newspaper Publishers Association published Wednesday that her father “is not abusive, violent or a rapist.” She says he “loves and respects women.” Cosby acknowledges that her 79-year-old father had affairs, but says he and her mother “have worked through it and moved on.”

Bill Cosby is charged with drugging and molesting Andrea Constand in 2004. He has pleaded not guilty and the trial is set to begin near Philadelphia with jury selection next month. Dozens of other women have also made similar accusations against Cosby.

Evin Cosby writes that the accusations are “harsh and hurtful” and have been “carelessly repeated as truth.”

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