Bill Cosby was found guilty in the sexual assault case filed by Donna Motsinger, with the jury ordering him to pay over $19 million in damages. Motsinger filed the lawsuit in September 2023, alleging that he had drugged and sexually assaulted her in 1972. The trial went for two weeks recently, with the jury awarding $17.5 million and $1.75 million for past and future damages, respectively. In the second phase of the trial, she was awarded $40 million in punitive damages, bringing the overall sum to over $59 million.
Bill Cosby loses sexual assault case, ordered to pay
Bill Cosby recently lost the sexual assault case filed by Motsinger over two years ago, with the California jury ordering him to pay over $19 million in damages. In the lawsuit, Motsinger, a former waitress at The Trident, revealed that she came across Cosby when he followed her home in Mill Valley. At the time, she was in her 30s and was invited by the comedian to accompany him to one of his shows at the Circle Star Theater. She claimed that he came to pick her up in a limousine.
The complainant alleged that Cosby then offered her a wine and a pill, which she earlier assumed to be aspirin. However, upon consumption, Motsinger fell unconscious, and later, when she woke up, she found herself at home, only in her underwear. “She knew she had been drugged and raped by Bill Cosby,” Motsinger’s lawyer claimed in court papers.
Cosby has denied Motsinger’s sexual assault allegations. Although the defendant didn’t testify at the two-week trial, his lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, revealed that her client would appeal the jury’s decision. Following the jury’s order, she said, “I was obviously disappointed in the decision, but we believe we have a strong appeal and we’ll pursue that” (via Page Six). On the other hand, Motsinger is satisfied with the jury’s verdict, as she has waited 54 years to get justice.
