Bill Cosby's sex assault civil trial ends with accusations of lying

(Matt Rourke / Associated Press)

Wednesday marked the conclusion of oral arguments in the civil lawsuit against Bill Cosby, with his counsel imploring the jury not to trust his accuser's assertion that the comedian sexually assaulted her at the Playboy Mansion in 1975.

In her testimony that Cosby forced her to perform a sex act when she was 16 and he was 37, plaintiff Judy Huth "lied about several significant details," according to Cosby's attorney Jennifer Bonjean. The comedian and actor dispute the accusation.

Bonjean's primary concern is that Huth has altered the purported incident's occurrence date.

1974, according to Huth's lawsuit filed in December 2014, Cosby seized her hand and masturbated with it in a bedroom at the estate. She started weeks before the trial that she had misunderstood the date and now believes it occurred in 1975.

Bonjean told the jury, "I don't think you can believe anything Ms. Huth says, to be honest."

Bonjean contended that Huth and a companion who accompanied her to the home concocted a tale to obtain money from Cosby. The friend had also initially stated that the year was 1974.

In addition, both individuals claimed to recall playing the arcade game Donkey Kong at the mansion that evening, although the game did not exist until 1981. The information was extensively mentioned during the trial, and Huth stated that she used Donkey Kong to illustrate the type of video game she recalled playing.

Bonjean concluded her final arguments by displaying an arcade-style "Game Over" message on a screen in the courtroom.

This provoked a robust response from Nathan Goldberg, an attorney for Huth.

During his concluding remarks to the jury, he yelled at Bonjean, "It's not a game!" Respect someone who has been sexually attacked.

Goldberg requested that jurors hold Cosby "completely accountable." Huth is seeking compensation for the emotional suffering she claims she endured between 2014, when charges against Cosby were widely reported in the media, and 2018 when he was sentenced to jail in Pennsylvania for sexual assault.

"Four miserable years. How much is it worth to someone? $1,000,000 per year? $2 million annually? Goldberg asked.

After receiving their instructions on Thursday, jurors in the California Superior Court trial are expected to begin deliberations Thursday.

The jurors were shown an approximately 10-minute video of Cosby addressing questions from one of Huth's attorneys during a 2015 deposition. Cosby did not appear in person at the trial.

While Cosby stated that he did not recall Huth, he noted that the encounter could not have occurred because he would not have pursued sexual contact with a 15-year-old at the time.

Cosby was released from prison 11 months before the civil trial in California when Pennsylvania's highest court overturned his sexual assault conviction in a separate case.

Cosby, 84, is best remembered for his role as the endearing husband and father in the 1980s sitcom "The Cosby Show," which earned him the nickname "America's Dad."

However, his family-friendly reputation was destroyed after over fifty women accused him of sexual assaults for nearly half a century.

Publish : 2022-06-16 08:14:00

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