Court Orders Bill Cosby to Pay $19m in 1972 Sexual Assault Case

Court Orders Bill Cosby to Pay $19m in 1972 Sexual Assault Case

A California jury has ordered veteran American comedian, Bill Cosby, to pay $19.25 million in damages to a former waitress who accused him of drugging and sexually assaulting her in 1972.

The verdict was delivered in a civil case heard in Santa Monica, where the jury found Cosby liable for the decades-old incident involving Donna Motsinger, now 84.

According to court documents, Motsinger testified that she met Cosby while working at a popular restaurant in Sausalito. She told the court that the entertainer later picked her up in a limousine, offered her wine, and gave her a pill she believed to be aspirin.

She said the substance left her disoriented and unable to function.

“The next thing she knew, she was going in and out of consciousness,” court filings stated, adding that she later woke up at home partially undressed.

Motsinger said she subsequently concluded that she had been drugged and sexually assaulted.

Cosby, 88, has denied the allegation, maintaining his innocence throughout the trial. His legal team argued that the plaintiff could not clearly account for what happened, insisting there was no evidence to support the claim.

His lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, said the judgment would be challenged on appeal.

The case is one of many allegations that have trailed Cosby over the years. More than 60 women have accused the entertainer of similar misconduct, claiming he used drugs and alcohol to assault them over several decades.

Although Cosby was convicted in a separate criminal case in 2018, that conviction was overturned in 2021 on legal grounds, leading to his release.

The latest ruling adds to the series of civil cases that continue to shape public and legal scrutiny of the once-celebrated entertainer.