A California jury has ordered 88-year-old former US comedian and actor Bill Cosby to pay a staggering $19.25 million in damages to a former waitress who accused him of drugging and sexually assaulting her more than five decades ago.
The civil case, which concluded recently in Santa Monica, found Cosby liable for the 1972 incident involving Donna Motsinger, now 84 years old.
Motsinger, who previously worked at the popular celebrity hangout Trident restaurant in Sausalito where she first encountered the comedian, told the court that Cosby picked her up in a limousine and offered her wine along with a pill she believed to be aspirin before taking her to one of his shows.
According to court filings detailing the horrific encounter, Motsinger stated that the substance left her completely incapacitated.
“Next thing she knew, she was going in and out of consciousness… the last thing Ms Motsinger recalls were flashes of light,” the lawsuit read.
Motsinger testified that she later woke up at home partially undressed, leading her to the conclusion that she had been drugged and raped.
Cosby has consistently denied the allegation, as well as similar claims leveled against him by dozens of women over the past several decades.
Throughout the trial, his legal team aggressively challenged Motsinger’s account. They argued to the jury that Motsinger “freely admits that she has no idea what happened.”
Following the jury’s decision, Jennifer Bonjean, Cosby’s lawyer, confirmed that the comedian intends to appeal the $19.25 million verdict.
Over the years, Cosby has faced accusations of being a serial predator from approximately 60 different women. Many of these women have alleged that the actor used a combination of sedatives and alcohol to incapacitate and assault them over a sprawling 40-year period.
Despite the sheer volume of civil lawsuits and public allegations, Cosby currently does not hold a criminal conviction.
While he was imprisoned in 2018 following a criminal sexual assault conviction, that decision was ultimately overturned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on a technicality in 2021, leading to his release.
