A Los Angeles jury found Bill Cosby liable Tuesday in a civil lawsuit accusing him of sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl at the Playboy Mansion in 1975.
His accuser, Judith Huth, alleged “The Cosby Show” star made her drink alcohol as “part of a game” at his home before taking her and her friend to the Playboy Mansion, Fox News reported. While there, she claimed Cosby led her into an empty room, kissed her mouth, put his hand down her pants and forced her to perform sexual acts on him, according to the outlet.
She first filed the civil lawsuit in 2014, suing for alleged sexual battery and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional stress, CNN reported. She alleged Cosby knew her age, 16 at the time, and allegedly said “if any of the Playboy bunnies asked their age, they should say they were 19.”
The court awarded her $500,000 in damages.
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) — Civil trial jury finds Bill Cosby sexually abused 16-year-old girl at Playboy Mansion in 1975, awards her $500,000.
— David Mack (@davidmackau) June 21, 2022
“I feel vindicated,” Huth told a reporter in the courtroom, according to The New York Times. “It’s a big, big step forward for all the victims out there. It’s about time he has paid for what he has done to so many women.”
“Seriously, it’s been so many years, so many tears, just a long time coming,” she also said, according to the Washington Post.
Cosby’s spokesperson, Andrew Wyatt, denied the accusations brought against the actor and said Cosby will continue to “maintain his innocence.”
“Mr. Cosby continues to maintain his innocence and will vigorously fight these false accusations, so that he can get back to bringing the pursuit of happiness, joy and laughter to the world,” Wyatt said in a statement, according to Reuters. He also reportedly plans to appeal the verdict.
The 12 jurors prolonged their verdict after Judge Craig Karlan cleared the courtroom Friday at 4:30 in the afternoon inside the Santa Monica Courthouse, Fox News reported. The judge reportedly initially said he would accept a partial verdict but could not after the bailiff told him that the building was closing down.
The jury had to answer nine questions relating to the case, such as whether Huth was under 18 when she was in the Playboy Mansion with Cosby, if a normal person would be offended by Cosby’s alleged actions and if he reasonably believed Huth was of legal age at the time, Fox News reported.
The 84-year-old actor was not present in the courtroom during the two-week trial, according to Fox News. The jurors began their deliberations Thursday. In August 2021, the actor’s attorney had reportedly said Cosby would plead the fifth in the case.
The defendant’s lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, asked for a mistrial due to an alleged photograph of one of the jurors standing near an accuser present in the audience, according to Fox News. Accuser Lily Bernard reportedly told the courtroom she had never communicated with any of the jurors. (RELATED: Bill Cosby’s Career Achievement Award Gets Revoked)
“I never spoke to any juror, ever,” Bernard said to the judge. “I would never do anything to jeopardize this case. I don’t even look at them.”
A 2015 video viewed by the jurors reportedly showed Cosby denying having had any sexual contact with Huth, Fox News reported.
The actor was found guilty in 2018 on three counts of aggravated indecent assault for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his home in Philadelphia in 2004. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned his conviction in June 2021 after Cosby had served two years of his three-10-year sentence due to a prior non-prosecution agreement.