Big blow for Bill Cosby as jury delivers fresh verdict over 1972 assault

A California jury has ordered veteran comedian Bill Cosby to pay $19.25 million in damages to a former waitress who accused him of drugging and sexually assaulting her in 1972.

The victim, Donna Motsinger, now 84, told the court that Cosby picked her up in a limousine, gave her wine and a pill she believed was aspirin, which left her incapacitated.

According to court filings, Motsinger said she began drifting in and out of consciousness shortly after taking the pill.

“The next thing she knew, she was going in and out of consciousness… the last thing she recalls were flashes of light,” her legal team stated.

She said she later woke up at home partially unclothed and believed she had been drugged and assaulted.

Cosby, 88, has strongly denied the allegation, maintaining his innocence as he has in multiple cases brought against him over the years.

His lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, confirmed that the comedian will appeal the ruling.

The case was heard in Santa Monica, California, where the jury reached its verdict on Monday. Additional punitive damages could still be added, pending further deliberation.

Motsinger, who worked at a popular celebrity restaurant in Sausalito at the time, said Cosby invited her to one of his stand-up shows before the incident occurred.

The ruling marks another legal setback for Cosby, whose career — once defined by the hit TV show The Cosby Show — has been overshadowed by decades of allegations from dozens of women.

In 2021, Cosby was released from prison after serving nearly three years of a sentence for sexual assault, when his conviction in Pennsylvania was overturned on a legal technicality.