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After many women publicly came fourth about sexual assault by Bill Cosby, the man once considered “Americans Favorite TV Dad” has quickly become hated by many Americans.
On June 21, 2022, Cosby was found civilly liable of sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl at the Playboy Mansion in 1975. The jury concluded that Cosby purposefully inflicted harmful sexual contact on Huth, aware that she was underage, and his conduct was compelled by abnormal sexual interest in a minor.
This case is the first sex-abuse civil trial against Coby to reach a jury. The jurors’ decision comes almost a year after his Pennsylvania criminal conviction for sexual assault. That case was disregarded, and he was freed from prison. However, Huth’s lawsuit was one of the last persisting legal claims against him after the rest were settled against his will.
Bill Cosby was accused of drugging and molesting Andrea Constand, a Temple University employee. In 2018, Cosby was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but the conviction was overturned last June after the Supreme Court found Cosby had acquired a non-prosecution agreement from a prior prosecutor. After Pennsylvania prosecutors requested that the decision be reviewed, the Supreme Court dismissed their suggestion, leading to the Huth civil case being paused.
Bill Cosby continues his fall from grace amid sexual assault conviction
Cosby did not testify nor attend the trial, but short clips were played in which he dismissed any sexual allegations with Huth. In the video, Cosby claimed that he had no recollection of meeting Huth and denied that he would partake in sexual activity with a minor.
On June 17, the jury reached a verdict, except on one claim, which linked the problem of punitive damages against Cosby. However, before Judge Craig Karlan, the Superior court judge, got the opportunity to read a restricted verdict in the trial, he released the jury for the weekend due to a hard closing time for the Santa Monica Courthouse.
Because of the early dismissal, the jury had to pick up where they left off this Monday, June 20th. However, this time the jurors began the deliberations from the beginning with one different member since the judge permitted the previous juror to be dismissed on Friday due to prior commitment.
With the new juror joining the committee, the jury began discussing the case again but disagreed on a verdict. The next day, the jurors heard short arguments about legal issues connected with the prior punitive damages problem.
The jury’s concentration on that topic indicates that they were leaning in favor of Huth, finding Bill Cosby guilty of some violation of criminality.
On June 21, the jury implied they had difficulty coming to a verdict regarding the punitive damages. However, after many long discourses, the jurors finally reached a decision.
Sexual assault at Playboy Mansion catches up to Cosby
Nathan Goldberg, Huth’s attorney, accused Cosby of sexually assaulting her in a game room at the Playboy Mansion in 1975. After Cosby met Huth and Donna Samuelson, a 17-year-old friend, at an area close to filming “Let’s Do It Again,” attorneys state that he escorted them both to the Playboy mansion.
Jennifer Bonjean, Bill Cosby’s attorney, denied Huth’s allegations, claiming that the comedian did not endure any unlawful activity. In addition, his attorneys stated that both women spent about 12 hours at the Playboy Mansion after the claimed assault. Moreover, they asserted that Huth initially said the assault occurred in 1974, making her 15 years old, but then modified her story to it happening a year later. Bonjean informed the jurors that the change in date of the supposed attack is evidence of “fabrication” by Huth, also believing that her emotional trauma arose from other situations in her life.
In response to the defense argument by Bonjean, Goldberg stated that the girls stayed at the mansion after the alleged attack because Samuelson convinced her to stay, even though she was crying and desperately wanted to leave. Samuelson told Huth that she would feel better after a swim. At the trial, Samuelson testified that Huth was crying and distressed but did not want to call the police.
Huth, the alleged victim who is now 64 years old, was awarded $500,000 by The Los Angeles County jury. After the ruling, Huth told reporters, “I was elated…seriously, it’s been so many years, so many years, just a long time coming.”