Bill Cosby has been found guilty of sexual assault again and has been ordered to pay $500,000 (R8m) in damages.
The 84-year-old comedian – who was previously in jail and has been accused of sexual assault by 60 women since 2014 – was accused of forcing Judy Huth to perform an indecent act on him when she was 16 at the Playboy Mansion and has now been found guilty.
The lawsuit alleged that he brought Judy and another underage friend to the infamous mansion back in 1975 and noted how the alleged incident had made her feel “mad, duped and foolish”.
The former Cosby Show star has reportedly been ordered to pay $500,000 in damages to the now 64-year-old Judy.
The verdict comes after a two-day deliberation period from the 12-person jury, who – since the trial began at the beginning of June – had heard arguments from the alleged victim’s best friend that the attack left her in tears.
Donna Samuelson told the court: “She said ‘I want to go, I wanna leave,’ she was crying. She said Bill Cosby had tried to have sex with her.”
Meanwhile, attorneys for the comedian – who was reportedly not present for the verdict – had argued that the case was “a complete and utter fabrication” and that pictures presented in the trial as evidence were all an attempt for Judy to “cash in”.
The verdict comes almost a year after Cosby’s 2018 criminal conviction for the 2004 sexual assault of Andrea Constand was overturned by the courts and the star was released from prison.