A California jury found comedian Bill Cosby, 84, guilty of sexual harassment of a woman at the Playboy mansion in 1975, when she was still a minor on Tuesday (June 21).
The jury awarded Judy Huth $ 500,000 in compensation for the emotional distress she claims she suffered years later, when multiple allegations against Cosby, filed by other women, helped spark memories of the comedian’s abuse.
Huth testified that she was 16 when the comedian invited her and a friend to the Playboy Mansion after meeting them in a park. Upon her arrival, the comedian, then 37, took her to a bedroom, pulled on her sweatpants and then took her hand and used it to masturbate.
Cosby, who did not attend the trial, denied the allegation. In the video of a deposition shown to the jurors, she claimed that she did not remember Huth. But she said the incident could not have taken place because she was not seeking sexual contact at the time with someone under the age of 18.
Cosby’s attorney Jennifer Bonjean questioned Huth’s account during the trial, including her timeline.
When the lawsuit began in December 2014, Huth said the accident happened in 1974, when she was 15. He told jurors that he recently concluded he was wrong about the year and now believes it happened in 1975. Huth is currently 64 years old.
In addition to her testimony, the trial included testimony from her friend at the time, Donna Samuelson, as well as two other women who claimed they were abused by Cosby in 1975.
The civil trial in California occurred 11 months after Cosby’s release from prison, when a Pennsylvania high court overturned her conviction for sexual assault in another criminal case.
Prosecutor Gloria Allred hailed the verdict as a victory towards “real change”. The case was the first to be tried under the new Child Victims Act, which allows adult survivors of child sexual abuse to come forward and hold their torturer accountable several years later.
In a statement released to the media following the verdict, a spokesperson for Cosby said, “We have always argued that Judy Huth, Gloria Allred and their associates fabricated these false allegations to force Cosby to fund his racist mission against respected black men. successful and successful in America Mr. Cosby continues to maintain his innocence and will vigorously fight these false accusations so that he can once again bring happiness, joy and laughter to the world.
Source: Terra
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
