Bill Cosby is being sued for another alleged sexual assault.
TMZ reports that a woman has accused the man of giving her two pills before forcing himself on her.
The latest lawsuit comes from former Playboy model Victoria Valentino. Valentino claims Cosby drugged and raped her in 1969. The lawsuit itself is the first in California under a new law that temporarily lifts the statute of limitation on civil sexual assault cases. The law states accusers who allege they were sexually assaulted have a one-year window (ending this year) to seek damages — regardless of when the offenses took place.
According to the lawsuit, Valentino claims she met Cosby in his studio trailer after an audition and told him about the recent death of her six-year-old son. Later, the pair ran into each other again at a Los Angeles restaurant. Valentino alleges Cosby spotted her crying at a table, then offered to pay for a spa treatment and dinner for the woman and her friend.
However, Valentino claims, things went differently. She claims Cosby put pills next to their drinks at the dinner, and claimed they would make them feel better. Cosby then pretended to take one himself. After ingesting the pills, Valentino alleges that it was hard to stay awake, and that Cosby offered to drive the pair home. Instead, he drove them to his office, where the sexual assault took place.
Cosby’s representative Andrew Wyatt disputes the claims, calling the move a target against “every black successful man in America.”
Beyond just Cosby, Valentino is also suing between one and 20 unnamed people (via The Washington Post). These include Cosby’s agents, servants, and other employees that she claims helped enable Cosby’s assault. Valentino is no stranger to speaking up against Cosby, as she first publicly discussed their history in 2014. That same year, countless other women also came forward against Cosby with similar allegations.
Following the litany of allegations in 2014, Cosby has all but remained out of the spotlight. In 2018, he was convicted of aggravated indecent assault, and was imprisoned until the conviction was vacated in 2021. This was related to violations against Cosby’s 5th and 14th Amendment due process rights.
