Comedian Bill Cosby was arraigned in Pennsylvania on charges related to an alleged sexual assault against a woman at his home outside Philadelphia in 2004, and a judge set bail at $1 million.

Mr Cosby made a brief appearance before the judge in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, but he entered no plea during the hearing.

The entertainer, seen in television footage dressed in a heavy gray sweater, carrying a cane, and escorted by law enforcement officers, made no public statement when he entered or left the courtroom.

Earlier, Montgomery County prosecutors announced the first criminal charge ever filed against the entertainer related to any of the dozens of accusations of sexual misconduct against him, some of which date back for decades.

According to an affidavit, the victim was a guest of Cosby at his home in Cheltenham one evening in January 2004 when he gave her wine and urged her to take three blue pills, prosecutors said in a statement.

Prosecutors said the victim became "incapacitated" and, they allege, was then sexually assaulted by Mr Cosby.

"The victim did not consent to any of these acts andreported that she was unable to move or speak and felt 'frozen'and 'paralyzed.'"

Mr Steele said new information came to light this year in the case, and that the victim was willing to cooperate.