Bill Cosby has been found guilty. Image Source: Sky News 

Bill Cosby has been found guilty.

According to the Associated Press reports, Bill Cosby was found guilty in a civil trial where it was said that he sexually abused a 16-year-old girl at the Playboy Mansion in 1975, and the jury delivered their verdict in favor of plaintiff Judy Huth and awarded her $500,000.

After the verdict was announced, Judy Huth said that it did not matter to her that she was awarded no punitive damages or $500,000 but that the fact that the jury believed her meant so much to her. She added that it’s been torture for her to be ripped apart, thrown under the bus, and backed over, and stated that this comes as a big victory for her.

The verdict of the jury comes after several days of deliberations during which they had to address several questions presented in the lawsuit and deliver numerous verdicts before deciding on punitive damages. Last week, Judy Huth took the stand in a Santa Monica, California courtroom and testified that Bill Cosby sexually assaulted her in the ‘blue room’ of the Playboy Mansion when she was 16-years-old. 

During her testimony, Judy Huth, who had filed a lawsuit against Bill Cosby in 2014, said that Bill Cosby tried to put his hands down her pants and accused him of exposing himself before he forced Judy to pleasure him sexually on a bed in a room that is said to have been adjacent to the game room at the Playboy Mansion. She detailed that when Bill Cosby was filming "Let's Do It Again" with Sidney Poitier in a park in the Los Angeles region, Judy Huth and her friend Donna Samuelson encountered him there. A few days later, according to Judy Huth's complaint, Bill Cosby escorted her and her friend to the Playboy Mansion after making her consume alcohol as part of a game.

Judy Huth is thankful to the jury stating that it means a lot that jury believed her. Image Source: NY Times 

Judy Huth stated that she wanted to leave the mansion following the sexual assault, but Donna Samuelson was her ride and she did not want to leave, so they stayed, changed into bathing suits, and jumped into the swimming pool after Bill Cosby left. Donna Samuelson said that Judy Huth cried and showed anger while trying to explain to her about what had happened with her. Donna added that they both talked in her car for about an hour-half and she persuaded Judy to stay at the mansion because she thought that it would calm her down. 

Although Judy Huth had also reported the incident to the police, no charges have been filed. Due to the pandemic, Bill Cosby's two criminal trials, and other delays, the matter has been in court for eight years. For a criminal case, the statute of limitations has already passed, but under California law, victims of alleged teenage sexual assault may still bring civil claims several years after the claimed acts.

Judy Huth and Donna Samuelson were repeatedly questioned during the cross-examination by Bill Cosby's attorney Jennifer Bonjean about inaccuracies in the details of their allegations and a resemblance in the narratives that she said indicated collaboration between the two women. This includes the ladies claiming that Donna Samuelson had played Donkey Kong that day, despite the game not being published for six years, in pre-trial depositions and police interviews. In what both sides came to refer to as the "Donkey Kong defense," Jennifer Bonjean made much of this.

The charges are denied by Bill Cosby, whose 2018 sexual assault conviction for drugging and assaulting Andrea Constand was overturned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court after he was sentenced to prison. According to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's ruling, Bill Cosby's Fifth Amendment rights were violated when it was decided to use statements from a previous deposition in which Bill Cosby admitted to giving quaaludes to women with whom he wanted to have sex against him. This was because a previous prosecutor had promised not to charge Bill Cosby in exchange for taking the deposition.

Bill Cosby denied all the allegations and is preparing to appeal. Image Source: US Weekly 

Bill Cosby had been the victim of an unlawful coercive bait-and-switch which the court described as a violation of due process according to the court's ruling. The prosecution was unable to resubmit the criminal charges as a result of the high court's ruling.Hence, the comedian was released after two years of his three-ten year sentence. 

Bill Cosby did not attend the civil trial or testify in person after invoking his Fifth Amendment right, but short clips from his 2015 video deposition were played for jurors, in which he denied any sexual contact with Judy Huth. He continues to deny the allegations through his attorney and publicist. Bill Cosby spokesman Andrew Wyatt said they would appeal the verdict and he claimed the defense won because Judy Huth didn’t win punitive damages.

Judy Huth’s attorney, Nathan Goldberg told the jury of nine women and three men during closing arguments Wednesday that her client deserves to have Bill Cosby held accountable for what he had done to her and added that each one of you know in your heart that Bill Cosby sexually assaulted Judy Huth. 

At least nine of the 12 jurors agreed, giving Judy Huth a victory in a suit that took nearly eight years and overcame many hurdles just to get to trial.

Text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 if you or someone you know has experienced sexual abuse speak with a trained crisis counselor.