Sundaymail Editor
COMEDIAN Bill Cosby sexually assaulted a teenager at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles in 1975, a jury has found.
Judy Huth testified to the civil trial that Cosby (84) had forced her to perform a sex act on him at the venue when she was 16 years old.
The jury also ruled that Cosby must pay Ms Huth, who is now 64, US$500 000 in damages.
Less than a year ago, Cosby walked free from prison after his sexual assault conviction was thrown out.
More than 50 women have come forward with abuse allegations against the man once known as America’s Dad, charges he denies.
The civil case against Cosby in Santa Monica, California, was the first to go to trial and represented one of the last remaining legal actions against him. Filed in 2014, it was delayed for years by Cosby’s criminal proceedings.
Ms Huth’s suit alleged that he brought her and another underage friend to the infamous mansion, lured her to a bedroom and forced himself on her.
When she resisted, he forced her to perform a sex act on him, she testified.
In tears on the stand, Ms Huth told the court she felt “mad, duped and foolish” after the incident, as her lawyers presented a photo of her and Cosby inside the mansion.
Cosby was not required to appear in person at the trial and never did, but the court saw a 2015 deposition by Ms Huth’s attorneys, in which the comedian said he did not remember her and would not have pursued being intimate with a minor.
Lawyers for Cosby sought to poke holes in Ms Huth’s claims, noting she had initially said she was 15 at the time of the incident, but changed that detail weeks before the trial.
They claimed Ms Huth had offered her photo with Cosby to tabloids and others in search of a payout.
Jurors were also shown a videotaped 2016 deposition of late Playboy founder Hugh Hefner –a close friend of Cosby in the 1970s –who said it would have been “very unusual” for underage girls to be allowed inside the mansion.
Known to millions for his portrayal of TV dad Cliff Huxtable on “The Cosby Show”, the comic has faced accusations of sexual assault, misconduct and rape stretching back to the mid-1960s.
In 2018, he was convicted of drugging and molesting a woman at his home in 2004 and sentenced to three to 10 years in prison.
The conviction, however, was overturned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court last year. He was released from prison after serving nearly three years.
Beyoncé drops ‘Break My Soul’
Welcome back Bey.
Beyoncé released her new single early on June 20 and it is safe to say “Break My Soul” did its part to break the internet.
With its house music vibe, the dance track marked the return the Bey Hive (as her devout fan base is known) was more than ready for.
“You will not break my soul,” Beyoncé sings in the chorus with lyrics that let it be known she is fully aware of her power.
“Imma let down my hair/’Cause I lost my mind,” she sings.
“Bey is back and I am sleeping real good at night/The queens in the front and the doms in the back/Ain’t takin’ no flicks but the whole clique snapped.”
It also reunites Queen Bey with bounce music legend Big Freedia, who appeared on Beyoncé’s hit 2016 song “Formation.”
“It feels surreal to be on the track with the Queen Beyonce once again,” Big Freedia tweeted. “I’m so honoured to be (a part) of this special moment I’m forever grateful lord. Someone please catch me.”
The superstar had announced that the song would release at midnight, but made a surprise early drop on Tidal, the streaming service owned by her husband, rapper Jay-Z.
“Break My Soul” is the first single off of her forthcoming “Renaissance” album which is set to come out July 29.
In 2020, Beyoncé released the single “Black Parade” in honour of Junteenth.
The Grammy winner’s last visual album, “Black Is King,” released that same year as a companion project to her curated album “The Lion King: The Gift.” She voiced the character of Nala in Disney’s 2019 “Lion King” remake.
Her last full-length album was “Lemonade” in 2016. –Wires
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