Bill Cosby Ordered to Pay $19.3 Million in Sexual Assault Case

A United States court has ordered veteran entertainer Bill Cosby to pay $19.3 million in damages to a woman who accused him of drugging and sexually assaulting her more than five decades ago.

The judgment followed a civil trial in Santa Monica, California, where the plaintiff, Donna Motsinger, recounted her encounter with the 88-year-old comedian when she worked as a waitress in the 1970s.

According to court documents, Motsinger said Cosby befriended her after visiting the restaurant where she worked. She told the court that during a limousine ride, he offered her a drink and what she believed was aspirin. She subsequently lost consciousness and later woke up at home partially undressed.

Her legal team argued that she had been drugged and sexually assaulted.

Cosby’s attorneys, however, maintained that he did not recall any such incident, adding that any interaction between the two would have been consensual.

After three days of deliberation, the jury awarded Motsinger $19.3 million in damages, with the possibility of additional punitive damages still under consideration.

The ruling adds to a series of legal battles involving Cosby, once widely regarded as “America’s Dad” for his role in The Cosby Show, which aired from 1984 to 1992.

In a similar case in 2022, a jury ordered Cosby to pay $500,000 to Judy Huth after finding he had sexually assaulted her as a teenager in 1975.

Cosby was previously convicted in 2018 in Pennsylvania for drugging and assaulting another woman. However, that conviction was overturned in 2021 due to a legal technicality, leading to his release from prison.

Over the years, dozens of women have accused the comedian of sexual misconduct, with many alleging he used intoxicating substances to incapacitate them before the assaults.

The latest verdict underscores ongoing legal and reputational challenges facing the once-celebrated entertainer.