A California jury has directed former comedian and actor Bill Cosby to pay $19.25 million in damages to a woman who accused him of drugging and sexually assaulting her more than 50 years ago.
The civil verdict, delivered in Santa Monica, found Cosby liable in connection with a 1972 incident involving Donna Motsinger, now aged 84.
According to court proceedings, Motsinger testified that Cosby picked her up in a limousine, offered her wine, and gave her a pill she believed to be aspirin before taking her to one of his performances. She said the substance left her unable to function.
“Next thing she knew, she was going in and out of consciousness… the last thing Ms Motsinger recalls were flashes of light,” the lawsuit read.
She further told the court that she later regained consciousness at home, partially undressed, leading her to believe she had been drugged and raped.
Cosby, 88, has repeatedly denied the allegation, along with similar accusations made by dozens of women over the years. His legal team argued that Motsinger “freely admits that she has no idea what happened.”
His lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, confirmed that the ruling would be challenged on appeal.
Motsinger had previously worked at the Trident restaurant in Sausalito, a well-known celebrity hotspot at the time, where she said she first met Cosby.
Over the years, Cosby has faced allegations from more than 60 women, many of whom accused him of using alcohol and sedatives to assault them across several decades.
Although he has been the subject of multiple lawsuits, Cosby has not secured a lasting criminal conviction. In 2018, he was sentenced in a separate criminal case, but the conviction was later overturned in 2021 on a legal technicality.
