Bill Cosby Found Liable in Civil Sexual Assault Case from 1972
A civil jury in Santa Monica, California has found legendary comedian and actor Bill Cosby liable for sexually assaulting a woman in 1972. The verdict was delivered after a nearly two-week trial, marking another significant legal development in the long-running allegations against the former television star.
Jury Awards $19.25 Million in Damages
The jury ordered the 88-year-old Cosby to pay Donna Motsinger a total of $19.25 million in damages. This substantial award includes $17.5 million for past damages and an additional $1.75 million for future damages. The compensation covers what the jury determined to be Motsinger's mental suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, inconvenience, grief, anxiety, humiliation, and emotional distress resulting from the assault.
Jurors deliberated for just over a day before reaching their decision. The trial may continue with a punitive damages phase scheduled to begin later on Monday, which could potentially increase the total amount Cosby must pay.
Details of the 1972 Assault Allegations
According to court documents, Donna Motsinger first made her allegations anonymously in a 2005 lawsuit filed by Andrea Constand, another Cosby accuser. Motsinger filed her own lawsuit in 2023, detailing events from 1972 when both she and Cosby were in their thirties.
Motsinger testified that she was working as a server at a restaurant in Sausalito, near San Francisco, when Cosby invited her to his stand-up comedy show at a theater in nearby San Carlos. During their encounter, she alleges that Cosby gave her wine and two pills she believed were aspirin. She reported going in and out of consciousness as two men placed her in a limousine.
"She woke up in her house with all her clothes off, except her underwear on - no top, no bra, and no pants," the lawsuit stated. "She knew she had been drugged and raped by Bill Cosby."
Cosby's Legal Team Plans Appeal
Cosby's attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, expressed disappointment with the verdict in an email to the Associated Press and confirmed they fully intend to appeal the decision. During the trial, Cosby's legal team argued that Motsinger's allegations rested almost entirely on speculation and assumption, noting that she "freely admits that she has no idea what happened."
Cosby did not testify during the civil trial, though witnesses included Andrea Constand, whose criminal case against Cosby resulted in a conviction that was later overturned.
Background of Cosby's Legal Troubles
This civil verdict comes nearly five years after Cosby was freed from prison in Pennsylvania when the state Supreme Court threw out his criminal conviction based on similar allegations. Cosby had served nearly three years of a three-to-ten-year sentence before his release.
In 2022, another jury in Santa Monica awarded $500,000 to a woman who said Cosby sexually assaulted her at the Playboy Mansion when she was a teenager in 1975.
Cosby's Place in the #MeToo Movement
Bill Cosby, once celebrated as "America's Dad" for his family-friendly television persona, became the first celebrity tried and convicted in the #MeToo era. His criminal conviction was permanently thrown out when an appeals court found he had given incriminating testimony in a deposition only after believing he had immunity from prosecution.
The civil verdict represents another chapter in the legal saga surrounding the former stand-up comedy and television superstar, whose career has been overshadowed by multiple sexual assault allegations spanning decades.
