Bruce Castor. AP photo by Marc Levy

The woman whose sexual assault allegations against Bill Cosby ultimately led to his criminal prosecution is now facing a lawsuit by the former district attorney who chose not to prosecute Cosby in 2005.

Former Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor Jr., who declined to charge Cosby more than a decade ago while in that post, filed a praecipe to issue writ of summons earlier this month in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, which named Cosby's accuser, Andrea Constand, as a defendant, as well as Constand's lawyers, Dolores Troiani and Bebe Kivitz.

Castor's claims stem from Constand's own ongoing lawsuit against him, in which she alleges that Castor defamed her in his public remarks about his decision not to prosecute Cosby. Jim Beasley Jr. of The Beasley Firm is representing Castor. He said he plans to file a complaint this month alleging that Constand filed the defamation claim in order to influence the 2015 district attorney election in Montgomery County, which Castor lost.

“It's going to assert an abuse of process claim because the timing seemed suspect with the election,” Beasley said. He said he filed the writ of summons to preserve the claim, as it was coming up on two years since Constand filed her lawsuit.

According to court documents, Castor is claiming more than $50,000 in damages.

Jeffrey McCarron of Swartz Campbell, who is representing Constand, Troiani and Kivitz, made a filing last week asking the court to require a complaint within 20 days.

Noting that Castor's claims will not truly be known until his complaint is filed, McCarron said Castor's allegations seem to contradict his previous statements to the press.

“After the election he disclaimed any connection between Andrea Constand and his loss,” McCarron said.

Castor's name has come up frequently in Cosby's criminal case. Even before Cosby's preliminary hearing, Cosby's lawyers made the argument in early 2016 that the charges should be dropped pursuant to a 2005 nonprosecution agreement with Castor. Castor gave a lengthy testimony in a two-day hearing on the matter.

Cosby's lawyers also alleged that Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele should be disqualified from the case because he mentioned Castor's decision not to prosecute Cosby in ads during the 2015 campaign.

Last year Cosby also sued Constand, alleging that she violated a confidential 2006 settlement agreement in several ways, including in her cooperation with law enforcement when the criminal case against Cosby was revived in 2015. A judge dismissed those claims, and Cosby dropped the ones that remained.

Cosby is facing three counts of aggravated indecent assault based on Constand's allegations. His first trial ended in a mistrial in June, and he is set to be retried in April.

Lizzy McLellan writes about the Pennsylvania legal community and the business of law at firms of all sizes. Contact her at [email protected]. On Twitter: @LizzyMcLellTLI