U.S. comedian Bill Cosby’s defense lawyers have rested their case after presenting a single, brief witness in his sexual assault* trial.

Defense lawyers called to the stand a detective* who led a 2005 investigation into claims that Cosby drugged and molested* a woman at his home in 2004.

The embattled* star, 79, earlier told a judge he would not testify to defend himself against those allegations.

Cosby denies the charge and his lawyer has said she agreed to sex.

The jury began deliberating* on Monday evening after the prosecution*’s closing statement, but retired for the night without reaching a verdict* and will continue their deliberations on Tuesday.

Andrea Constand, the 44-year-old at the center of the case, says the alleged incident happened during a visit to his home to seek career advice.

Dozens of women say he assaulted them, but statutes of limitation rules mean he is on trial for only one allegation.

Cosby arrived at court on Monday with his wife, Camille, who made her first appearance at the high-profile trial in Norristown, a suburb of Philadelphia. She is the first family member to join him.

He told Judge Steven O’Neill that he had decided not to testify after speaking with his lawyers.

Detective Richard Schaffer appeared for just six minutes on the defence’s behalf, in which he told a jury that Constand had visited Cosby at an out-of-state casino.

Defence lawyers have sought to discredit Constand by suggesting the pair were in a romantic relationship and she had changed her story several times during a previous investigation.

In his closing argument, Cosby’s lawyer Brian McMonagle said while his client had been unfaithful to his wife, he did not commit a crime.

They pointed to dozens of phone calls she made after the alleged incident and the casino visit.

“This isn’t talking to a trustee*. This is talking to a lover,” he said of one call that lasted 49 minutes.

In 2006, the comedian settled with Constand after providing an undisclosed cash sum to her.

Schaffer also said police knew Cosby had vision problems more than a decade ago, supporting the actor’s claim that he is blind.

Judge O’Neill rejected a request to call the defence’s second witness, a woman who worked with Constand at Philadelphia’s Temple University, where Cosby met the accuser*.

The prosecution rested its case on Friday after five days of testimony* from witnesses including Kelly Johnson, who claims Cosby drugged and sexually abused her in 1996 under similar circumstances.

If convicted, Cosby faces up to a decade in prison. (SD-Agencies)