Amid a sea of headlines about disgraced public figures comes an update about Bill Cosby. On Monday, it was revealed that a California jury has ordered the former actor to pay $19.25m in damages to Donna Motsinger after finding he drugged and sexually assaulted her more than 50 years ago in 1972. In a second phase of the trial to determine punitive damages, jurors added another $40 million, per the Washington Post, bringing the total judgment to $59.25 million.
It marks a moment of justice for the former waitress who is now 84 years old. “It has been 54 years to get justice, and I know it’s not complete for the rest of the women, but I hope it helps them a little bit,” Motsinger said after the jury’s decision, per The New York Times.
Motsinger alleged that he picked up from her home in a limousine in 1982 before giving her wine and a pill that left her incapacitated. She is one of dozens of women with a similar story.
The victim used to work as a waitress at a celebrity hotspot called the Trident in Sausalito, near San Francisco. She claimed that Cosby invited her to one of his stand-up comedy shows and thought the pill was aspirin, according to the court papers.
“Next thing she knew, she was going in and out of consciousness,” her legal action said, per the Los Angeles Times. “The last thing Ms. Motsinger recalls was flashes of light.”
© GettyAfter waking up at home in nothing but underwear, she knew she had been drugged and raped by “The Cosby Show” star.
Cosby’s lawyer has already assured the media that she is planning to appeal Monday’s verdict. They argued in court filings that Motsinger “freely admits that she has no idea what happened,” per AP.
The 88-year-old has maintained his innocence amid a sea of more than 60 allegations with strikingly similar stories of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment going back to the 1960s. “I have never changed my stance nor my story. I have always maintained my innocence,” he wrote in a since-deleted post on X, formerly known as Twitter, in June 2021, following his release from prison.
© GettyCosby has been living a life of freedom since he was released from prison in Pennsylvania in 2021 after his conviction for sexual assault was thrown out on a technicality. He had been previously sentenced for 3-10 years for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting former Temple University employee Andrea Constand in 2004.
While most cases have been outside the statute of limitations, those that have made it to court have had similar outcomes. In 2014, Judy Huth filed a lawsuit against him, alleging that he molested her at the Playboy Mansion in the 1970s when she was 15 years old.
Her suit was revived following his release from prison, and a civil jury ruled in favor of Huth and awarded her $500,000 in damages.
An expert witness called by Ms. Motsinger’s legal team estimated Cosby’s net worth at roughly $128 million, per the Washington Post.
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