Woman sues Bill Cosby, claiming underage abuse

[Mr. Television]

https://tv.yahoo.com/news/woman-sues...020400571.html


Woman sues Bill Cosby, claiming underage abuse
Associated Press
By ANTHONY McCARTNEY 33 minutes ago


LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bill Cosby was sued Tuesday by a Southern California woman who claims the comedian molested her in a bedroom of the Playboy Mansion around 1974 when she was 15 years old.

Judy Huth's sexual battery lawsuit does not specify how much she is seeking from Cosby, who has in recent weeks faced renewed accusations that he drugged and sexually assaulted more than a dozen women for many years.

Huth's lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, however, is the first time that a woman has claimed she was underage when she was abused, and it is the first lawsuit Cosby has faced claiming sexual abuse since 2005.

Huth's lawsuit states that she and a 16-year-old friend first met Cosby at a Los Angeles-area film shoot and the comedian gave the girls drinks a week later at a tennis club.

The lawsuit states that Cosby took them to the Playboy Mansion after several drinks, and told the teenagers to lie and say they were 19 years old if asked. Her lawsuit states Cosby forced her to perform a sex act on him with his hand.

An email message sent to Cosby's attorney Martin Singer was not immediately returned. Singer has denied previous accusations or said the women raising the claims in interviews had been discredited.

Singer's statement does not apply to a lawsuit brought in 2005 by Andrea Constand, who claimed Cosby drugged and molested her at his suburban Philadelphia mansion in 2004. Constand, who worked for the women's basketball team at Temple University, and Cosby settled the case before trial.

Cosby resigned from the university's board of trustees on Monday. He had been the school's public face, appearing in advertisements, fundraising campaigns and delivering commencement speeches.

The accusations have put a significant dent in Cosby's recent comeback efforts, forcing the cancellation of shows on his comedy tour and prompting Netflix and NBC to shelve projects featuring the comedian.

Cosby, 77, has never been criminally charged stemming from any of the sex-abuse allegations, many of which date back to the 1970s and 1980s.

Huth claims she suffered severe emotional distress and that she discovered its impact on her within the past three years, which allows her to file the lawsuit under California law.

"This traumatic incident, at such a tender age, has caused psychological damage and mental anguish for (Huth) that has caused significant problems throughout her life," the lawsuit states.

[LittleRickyII]

Oh dear. I fear we may just be at the tip of the iceberg.

[Dr. Thong]

Isn't there a statute of limitations on this kind of thing?

[Flying Dutchman]

Bill once said, in reference to Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy's brand of comedy "You don't need to be dirty to be a good comedienne" Bill was right. The only problem is, Bill got dirty behind closed doors.

[LittleRickyII]

Originally Posted by Dr. Thong

Isn't there a statute of limitations on this kind of thing?

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/p...buse/19822963/

California attorney Lisa Bloom, who has handled similar lawsuits for accusers in the past, says the state passed a law in 1990 allowing allegations of underage sexual abuse to be made in civil suits years or decades later.

"A child who is molested could suffer from a host of problems that follow her through life, and she may not realize this until much later," Bloom says. In recognition, California allows a person who alleges molestation as a child to file suit up to three years after she has "connected the dots" between the alleged molestation and her emotional trauma.'

[Mr. Television]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/p...-him/19907997/


Cosby strikes back at accuser: She tried to extort him
Maria Puente, USA TODAY 5:47 p.m. EST December 4, 2014

Bill Cosby's lawyers have struck back at one of his accusers in court, declaring that she tried to extort him for a quarter-million dollars and that she attempted to sell her story to a tabloid a decade ago.

If so, it would undermine the lawsuit Judy Huth filed against Cosby on Tuesday in California, claiming he molested her at the Playboy Mansion 40 years ago when she was 15.

In a court filing Thursday by Cosby's attorney, Martin Singer, is seeking dismissal of Huth's lawsuit and monetary damages, according to The Associated Press.

He wrote that her suit was filed only after she tried to extort $100,000, from Cosby, in exchange for her silence, a month ago. Later she bumped it up to $250,000 as more women came forward recently to allege Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted them in decades past, according to the filing.

TMZ reports that Cosby's filing claims Huth tried to sell her story to the tabloids around 10 years ago but none agreed to pay.

If true, this would be crucial because Huth's lawsuit stated she only recently discovered that she had suffered psychological damage as a result of the alleged molestation.

As a minor at the time, under California law, she would have to file a lawsuit seeking compensation from Cosby within three years of remembering the incident and connecting it to her trauma.

If she was trying to sell her story 10 years ago, that would fall far outside the deadline of "connecting the dots."

Also, Huth's lawsuit was not accompanied by a required certification from a psychologist that the trauma was newly discovered. The certification is required for the case to proceed under rules that extend the statute of limitations, Cosby's filing states.

Meanwhile, in another blow to Cosby's image, the U.S. Navy announced Thursday it was revoking the entertainment icon's honorary title of chief petty officer, presented to him in 2011, because the multiplying allegations of sexual abuse conflict with the Navy's core values.

[LittleRickyII]

Originally Posted by Stuck In The '70's

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/p...-him/19907997/


Cosby strikes back at accuser: She tried to extort him
Maria Puente, USA TODAY 5:47 p.m. EST December 4, 2014

Bill Cosby's lawyers have struck back at one of his accusers in court, declaring that she tried to extort him for a quarter-million dollars and that she attempted to sell her story to a tabloid a decade ago.

If so, it would undermine the lawsuit Judy Huth filed against Cosby on Tuesday in California, claiming he molested her at the Playboy Mansion 40 years ago when she was 15.

In a court filing Thursday by Cosby's attorney, Martin Singer, is seeking dismissal of Huth's lawsuit and monetary damages, according to The Associated Press.

He wrote that her suit was filed only after she tried to extort $100,000, from Cosby, in exchange for her silence, a month ago. Later she bumped it up to $250,000 as more women came forward recently to allege Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted them in decades past, according to the filing.

TMZ reports that Cosby's filing claims Huth tried to sell her story to the tabloids around 10 years ago but none agreed to pay.

If true, this would be crucial because Huth's lawsuit stated she only recently discovered that she had suffered psychological damage as a result of the alleged molestation.

As a minor at the time, under California law, she would have to file a lawsuit seeking compensation from Cosby within three years of remembering the incident and connecting it to her trauma.

If she was trying to sell her story 10 years ago, that would fall far outside the deadline of "connecting the dots."

Also, Huth's lawsuit was not accompanied by a required certification from a psychologist that the trauma was newly discovered. The certification is required for the case to proceed under rules that extend the statute of limitations, Cosby's filing states.

Meanwhile, in another blow to Cosby's image, the U.S. Navy announced Thursday it was revoking the entertainment icon's honorary title of chief petty officer, presented to him in 2011, because the multiplying allegations of sexual abuse conflict with the Navy's core values.

If this is true, it's unfortunate that this woman tried to exploit her experience this way by going to the tabloids instead of to court. I suppose, though, that she didn't realize 10 years ago that she still had legal recourse to pursue this in court.