Bill Cosby has once again been found guilty of abuse following a two-week-long trial. The 84-year-old was found guilty by a civil jury that ruled in favor of Judy Huth. She accused Cosby of abusing her when she was 16 years old at the Playboy Mansion.
Cosby did not appear in court in person. He appeared by video at the Santa Monica, California, courtroom on June 21 while the verdict was read. According to The New York Times, the jury deliberated on the case since June 16.
The jury awarded $500,000 in damages to Huth, now aged 64. In her testimony, Huth said that Cosby touched her inappropriately in a bedroom in the Playboy Mansion when she was only 16. This means this incident took place 48 years ago – in about 1975. He would have been 37 years old at the time.
In 2014 Huth filed a lawsuit against Cosby seeking damages for emotional distress; however, at the time, she claimed she met the comedian in 1975 when she and a friend were watching a movie being made at a park in Los Angeles. Huth said that Cosby approached the girls and asked them to sit with him.
What was a 16-year-old doing at the Playboy mansion you ask? Well, according to the victim, he got the teens tipsy and took them to the Playboy Mansion.
According to Huth, Cosby invited the girls to a tennis club with him the following Saturday, where he gave the underage girls alcoholic drinks while playing pool. After several drinks, Huth said that Cosby then surprised them by taking them to a party at the Playboy Mansion. Cosby also told the girls that if anyone were to ask, they should say they were 19.
At the party, Bill Cosby took advantage of a moment alone with Huth and then proceeded to abuse her in a bedroom at the mansion. While a criminal case could no longer be filed against Cosby due to the statute of limitations being expired, California law permits victims of underage abuse to file civil lawsuits.
Per The Guardian, Cosby’s spokesperson, Andrew Wyatt, said the actor’s team plans to appeal the jury’s decision but nonetheless considered the case “a win,” given that the jury only awarded Huth $5000,000, not the $8m Gloria Allred, Huth’s lawyer was after.
In a statement to the press, Wyatt said, “This is a huge victory and the Cosbys are so happy with the representation of Jennifer Bonjean. Allred was trying to get $8m. They did not get punitive damages. That is a huge win.”
Huth’s attorney Glory Allred thanked the jury for its verdict and said her client was very brave, saying, “courage and many sacrifices to win justice in this case. We are honored to represent her.”
Allred continued, “I want to thank all of the women who spoke out over the years, and refused to be silent in the face of what they believed to be injustice and sexual abuse by powerful men … We are proud of Ms. Huth and our victory against Bill Cosby.”