LOS ANGELES, Ca. (CBS/AP) --  In Los Angeles, celebrity attorney Gloria Allred, who represents more than two dozen Bill Cosby accusers, pronounced the arrest "the best Christmas present they have ever received."

The comedian has been charged with Aggravated Indecent Criminal Assault in Montgomery County for an alleged sexual assault at his Cheltenham mansion in 2004.

Allegations like this against Cosby exploded into view in late 2014; first online, then in the wider media, after comedian Hannibal Buress mocked the moralizing Cosby as a hypocrite and called him a rapist during a stand-up routine.

That opened the floodgates to even more allegations.

The women were mostly from the world of modeling, acting or other entertainment fields, and Cosby or his representatives denied any wrongdoing, accusing some of them of trying to extract money from him or get ahead in show business.

Allred she said her clients are willing to testify if called.

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