A woman has filed lawsuit against Cosby claiming he drugged and sexually assaulted her at his home in 1969.
The lawsuit, filed by Victoria Valentino, 80- a former Playboy model and singer, was filed on Thursday, June 1st, under a recent California law that suspended the statute of limitations when it comes to sex abuse claims, known as a “look back law.”
According to the lawsuit, Valentino claims Cosby approached her at a cafe after he saw her crying over the drowning death of her 6-year-old son, the Associated Press reports. Valentino alleges that Cosby later invited her and one of her friends to go for a spa treatment, and gave each of the women a pill that evening when they were all at dinner together. She claims that Cosby told the women it will make them “feel better.”
She alleges that Cosby then drove them back to his home, where Valentino passed out on a coach. She claims to have woken up to witness Cosby sexually assaulting her friend before he “engaged in forced sexual intercourse” with her, while she was unable to resist due to the effects of the drugs.
Cosby’s spokesperson, Andrew Wyatt, released a statement on Thursday denying the allegations Valentino has presented and claiming the lawsuit was filed “without any proof or facts.” He additionally decried what he referred to as the “look back window” laws, claiming they “are a sheer violation of all American’s [sic] Constitutional Rights.”
Wyatt’s statement continued, “What graveyard can Mr. Cosby visit, in order to dig up potential witnesses to testify on his behalf? America is continuing to see that this a formula to make sure that no more Black Men in America accumulate the American Dream that was secured by Mr. Cosby.”
The lawsuit comes almost one year after a jury in a civil trial found that Cosby sexually abused a 16-year-old girl at the Playboy Mansion in 1975. The jury delivered their verdict in favor of plaintiff Judy Huth, and awarded her $500,000, the Associated Press reports. The decision comes after several days of deliberations.
Since 2014, over 60 women have come forward with allegations of sexual assault, sexual harassment and rape against Cosby, who was one of the first celebrities to face legal consequences amid the #MeToo movement.
VIA: Entertainment Tonight.