A jury in California has ordered ex-American comedian and media personality, Bill Cosby to pay $19.25 million in damages to a former waitress after finding that he drugged and sexually assaulted her more than five decades ago.
Donna Motsinger, now 84, alleged that the former star gave her wine and a pill that left her incapacitated after picking her up at her home in a limousine in 1972.
Motsinger, who worked as a waitress at a restaurant called the Trident in Sausalito near San Francisco that was known as a haunt for celebrities including Cosby, claimed in her lawsuit that the comedian invited her to one of his stand-up comedy shows.
According to court papers, after picking her up to drive her to the gig, Cosby gave her a pill that she thought was aspirin.
“Next thing she knew, she was going in and out of consciousness,” her legal action said, according to the Los Angeles Times. “The last thing Ms Motsinger recalls were flashes of light.”
The filing stated that she woke up at home naked except for her underwear and “she knew she had been drugged and raped by Bill Cosby.”
The jury in the Santa Monica case has yet to determine punitive damages, which could add to the award.
Cosby’s lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, told US media that her client would appeal against Monday’s verdict.
Cosby, 88, has denied Motsinger’s allegations, along with similar claims in a string of civil and criminal cases filed by dozens of women. His lawyers argued in court filings that Motsinger “freely admits that she has no idea what happened,” according to AP news agency.
The comedian enjoyed immense fame in the 1980s and 90s with his sitcom The Cosby Show, but his reputation was shattered after dozens of women came forward with allegations of rape, sexual harassment, and sexual misconduct dating back to the 1960s. He has maintained that all the encounters were consensual.
Cosby was freed from prison in Pennsylvania in 2021, nearly three years into a sentence for sexual assault, after his conviction was thrown out on a technicality.
