Jury hears how comedian allegedly forced accuser to perform sex act, 11 months after he was freed from prison in a different case
A woman accused of sexual assault by Bill Cosby began her court evidence by recounting how she and a friend met the comedian as youngsters and accompanied him to the legendary Playboy Mansion.
Judy Huth, who has sued Cosby for unspecified damages, said before jurors that she was playing frisbee in a public park on a weekday when she observed a movie being filmed nearby. Bill Cosby, Sidney Poitier and other actors were among those she and a friend, Donna Samuelson, recognised as they walked closer.
Cosby approached the girls and they “bantered,” according to her, before he encouraged them to meet him at a tennis club the next Saturday. She described herself and Samuelson as “enthusiastic.”
“We were kids. It was a celebrity. It was out of the norm, that’s for sure,” she said.
Huth said she and Samuelson met Cosby at the tennis club, then followed him by car to his home, played a few games of pool and followed him to another location. Huth realized it was the Playboy Mansion when Cosby pointed out a picture of Hugh Hefner on the wall.
Huth, 64, is set to continue her testimony on Tuesday.
In her lawsuit, Huth said Cosby forced her to perform a sex act while she was at the mansion. She previously said the incident occurred in 1974, when she was 15, but recently said she now believes it was 1975.
The civil trial in California, one of the last legal cases against Cosby, is taking place 11 months after Cosby was freed from prison when Pennsylvania’s highest court threw out his sexual assault conviction in a different case.
Fabricated Accusation
Cosby’s lawyer Jennifer Bonjean said in opening statements that the alleged assault of Huth was a “fabrication,” though Cosby did not dispute that he invited Huth and her friend to the mansion.
“The evidence is going to show that Ms. Huth is not telling the truth,” she said.
Huth’s friend, Samuelson, recounted her recollection of events earlier Monday. Bonjean challenged her account of the mansion visit, noting that Samuelson had recalled playing a Donkey Kong arcade game, which was not introduced until 1981.
Reputation Destroyed
Cosby, 84, is not expected to attend the trial.
The comedian and actor is best known for his role as the lovable husband and father in the 1980s television comedy series “The Cosby Show,” earning him the nickname “America’s Dad.”
But his family-friendly reputation was shattered after more than 50 women accused him of sexual assaults over nearly five decades.
In 2018, Cosby was found guilty of drugging and molesting Andrea Constand, an employee at Temple University in Philadelphia, in his home in 2004.
Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court overturned Cosby’s conviction in June 2021, after Cosby had served more than two years of a three- to 10-year sentence.
The court said Cosby should not have faced the charges because a previous district attorney had publicly promised in 2005 not to prosecute him. In March, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review that decision.
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