Image Source: PBS
In a lawsuit brought by Judy Huth, who claimed the controversial comedian sexually abused her as a teenager in the 1970s, a Los Angeles jury convicted Bill Cosby guilty.
Huth received a $500,000 damage award from the jury, which was made up of four men and eight women. Punitive damages were not granted.
Huth made the initial claim in 2014, charging both intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress as well as sexual battery. Huth was 15 years old when the assault happened, per the initial petition, but that date was later changed to 1975, when he was 16.
Cosby, 84, has refuted every allegation of sexual assault through his attorneys.
Huth described meeting Bill Cosby when he was filming a movie in a park in her accusation. Cosby allegedly persuaded Huth and a buddy to join him at his tennis club after becoming acquainted with them. Huth claimed that the comedian had led the young women to the Playboy Mansion after inviting them to a residence and serving them a range of alcoholic beverages.
Cosby allegedly told Huth and her companion to “claim they were 19” if any Playboy bunnies asked them about their ages despite knowing Huth and her friend’s ages.
Huth claimed that Cosby had dragged her into a lavish bedroom and attacked her there.
In front of a courthouse in Santa Monica, Huth seemed cheerful as she briefly chatted with the press.
She gushed, “I was thrilled with the decision. This case “proves that you may flee but you can’t hide,” according to Huth’s attorney Nathan Goldberg. There have been so many years and so many tears shed.
As they made statements to the media, Cosby’s spokeswoman and attorneys received furious jeers from passersby.
Cosby’s team intends to pursue an appeal because he was not present for either the trial or the decision.
More than 50 women have accused Bill Cosby of sexual assault since 2005. Cosby was found guilty of assaulting Andrea Constand in Philadelphia and given a sentence of just under three years in a state prison in Pennsylvania. Later, his conviction was reversed on appeal. In September 2021, he was allowed to leave custody.
The Cosby accusers’ first civil lawsuit to go to trial was this one.
