Posted on 12/04/2014 8:02:52 AM PST by SteveH
As the number of sexual assault allegations against Bill Cosby grows, the comedian is now facing a lawsuit from a woman who claims Cosby molested her when she was 15. In a suit filed at Los Angeles County Superior Court on Tuesday, Judy Huth states that Cosby sexually assaulted her at the Playboy Mansion in 1974, the Los Angeles Times reports. The lawsuit marks the first time the latest wave of accusations against Cosby has resulted in legal action.
While the state of California can only pursue criminal charges against Cosby had the incident occurred in 1988 or after due to the statute of limitations, a civil trial could proceed if Huth can prove that she has developed "psychological injuries and illnesses" in the past three years as a result of the decades-old alleged assault.
(Excerpt) Read more at rollingstone.com ...
I hope she's also suing Hugh Hefner/Playboy Mansion for allowing under-age girls into the place back then.
Allred claims to be a victim of rape herself -if true - I could understand her drive
the civil court standard is the preponderance of evidence. evidence can be circumstantial. if there is no physical evidence but 20 witnesses come forward describing the same MO, Cosby is likely to be toast. See my earlier post for civil statute of limitations in California. It’s not a criminal court case, it is a civil case; however Cosby’s responses in depositions could lead to criminal proceedings, not limited to California state jurisdiction.
My take FWIW is that Cosby is only now being dragged into court kicking and screaming for stuff he wrongfully thought he could get away with. Most of these women are in their mid-40s or older— they are putting their lives on hold and their livelihood on the line to come out. Actually, some of them came out years ago, but did not resonate with the public consciousness until now. Everyone knows most civil cases are not pursued to jury success, but settled out of court, which is the best system we have been able to come up with until now, like it or otherwise. The honest and truthful end to cases like these are when the accused are hauled into court to face their accusers, and tried by a jury of their peers, or settle to avoid that ignominious end. If Cosby is guilty of this stuff (and IMHO it seems likely that he is), then heck, I have no pity for him. Why should I? Why should anyone? The guy thought he could get away with something very wrong, many times. He is not getting away with it now. I do not have any problem with that.
Yes, Cosby has many more complaints, which makes it hard to deny. For Cain it was three, but they destroyed him.
I disagree. This shows how much power rich celebrities have. People are either afraid of speaking out, are bought off (as Cosby did with at least one woman), or are so desperate to get into show business that they keep silent in hopes of getting a shot at stardom. Show business is rotten to its core.
Yes I do. Start with Judy Huth. And her own admissions.
yes, and meanwhile (much more significantly, IMHO) during the discovery phase of the trial, Cosby will be hauled into deposition as well.
If guilty Cosby cannot risk that since it incur significant risk of losing his entire fortune to damages and loss of his freedom due to criminal charges.
So his deposition probably won’t happen.
So her deposition probably won’t happen.
So it really is not very relevant from a most likely legal results perspective.
Guys.
whatever. giving alcohol and drugs to a minor are still criminal offenses. giving alcohol and drugs to a minor for the purposes of sexually molesting the minor is worse.
IANAL
so i have heard, the statute of limitations is somewhat more lax than the norm for sexual assault cases. this is in recognition of situations like Cosby’s in which there is a significant power disparity.
IANAL
if the playboy mansion is a private residence, the guards are under no obligation to enforce an age limit to visitors.
IANAL
What the heck was a 15 yr old doing at the Playboy mansion?
Precisely
not relevant
I’d like to know what evidence this chippy has of the rape after all these years? A jury won’t rule in her favor just because she says the crime happened.
there is a civil statute of limitations; see my earlier response on this.
IANAL
yes, and IMHO LA is a cultural cesspool.
A: Bill Cosby.
It seems incredible that an actress traveled with Cosby after an episode where she woke up wearinq a man’s clothes but didn’t report anythinq because she didn’t think anythinq had happened. If ever she was qoinq to know she had been raped, that is when. She asked no questions about how her clothes qot chanqed? The whole story is incredible.
I wonder how she is going to prove a 40 year-old rape allegation?
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