A sexual assault case against comedian Bill Cosby will proceed after an appeals court in Pennsylvania rejected an effort by Cosby to have the case thrown out. The Los Angeles Times reports that the court was not persuaded by Cosby’s argument that a decade-old deal not to prosecute him should be honored.

“The mid-level state Superior Court ruled Monday that the criminal sex-assault case against Cosby can proceed, prompting the district attorney to press for a preliminary hearing date,” the Times reports. “Cosby, 78, is facing trial over a 2004 encounter at his home with a then-Temple University employee who says she was drugged and molested by the comedian. Cosby says they engaged in consensual sex acts.”

Cosby has yet to enter a plea in the case and remains free on $1 million bail he posted after being arrested Dec. 30.

The report adds: “Former prosecutor Bruce Castor has said he promised he would never prosecute Cosby and urged him to testify in the woman’s 2005 civil lawsuit. The release of that testimony last year led a new prosecutor to arrest him.”