A California jury has ordered Bill Cosby to pay $19.25 million in damages to a former waitress, finding him liable for drugging and sexually assaulting her over five decades ago. The incident allegedly occurred after he offered her a ride to one of his shows.
Donna Motsinger testified that in 1972, the comedian picked her up in a limousine and gave her wine and a pill that incapacitated her.
Cosby, 88, has consistently denied Motsinger’s allegations, as well as similar claims made by numerous women in civil and criminal cases.
In 2021, Cosby was released from a Pennsylvania prison after serving nearly three years for a sex assault conviction, which was overturned on a technicality.
Jennifer Bonjean, Cosby’s lawyer, told US media that her client intends to appeal Monday’s verdict.
The Santa Monica jury may yet award additional punitive damages, the amount of which remains to be determined.
Motsinger, now 84, worked at The Trident, a restaurant in Sausalito, near San Francisco, frequented by celebrities, including Cosby.
According to court documents, her lawsuit alleged that Cosby invited her to one of his stand-up comedy shows and, while driving her to the event, gave her a pill she believed to be aspirin.
“Next thing she knew, she was going in and out of consciousness,” her legal action stated, according to the Los Angeles Times. “The last thing Ms. Motsinger recalls were flashes of light.”
The filing further stated that she awoke at home naked except for her underwear and “she knew she had been drugged and raped by Bill Cosby.”
Cosby’s legal team refuted the allegations, arguing in court filings that Motsinger “freely admits that she has no idea what happened,” as reported by the Associated Press.
Requests for comment from Cosby’s spokesperson and lawyer went unanswered by the BBC.
The comedian achieved widespread fame in the 1980s and 90s with his sitcom, “The Cosby Show,” but his reputation suffered irreparable damage following accusations of rape, sexual harassment, and sexual misconduct from dozens of women dating back to the 1960s. He has consistently asserted that all encounters were consensual.
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