A court in the United States has ordered veteran entertainer Bill Cosby to pay more than $19 million in damages to a woman who accused him of drugging and sexually assaulting her decades ago.
The ruling followed a civil case heard in Santa Monica, California, where the plaintiff, Donna Motsinger, alleged that Cosby assaulted her over 50 years ago when she worked as a waitress.
According to court documents, Motsinger claimed the incident occurred after Cosby visited the restaurant where she worked and later offered her a ride in his limousine. She alleged that he gave her a glass of wine and pills she believed were aspirin, after which she began losing consciousness.
She told the court that she later woke up at home wearing only her underwear and believed she had been drugged and raped.
Cosby’s legal team reportedly stated that the 88-year-old entertainer did not recall any sexual encounter with Motsinger, but maintained that if any interaction occurred, it was consensual.
After deliberating for three days, the jury ordered Cosby to pay $19.3 million in damages, a figure that could increase if additional punitive damages are awarded.
The case was heard in the same courthouse where a jury in 2022 ordered Cosby to pay $500,000 to Judy Huth after finding that he had molested her in 1975 when she was 16.
Cosby, once widely known as “America’s Dad” for his role in the television series The Cosby Show, was previously jailed in 2018 after being convicted of drugging and molesting a woman in a criminal case in Pennsylvania. However, the conviction was overturned in 2021 on a legal technicality.
Over the years, dozens of women have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct, alleging that he used sedatives and alcohol to assault victims over several decades.
