Jury Awards $19.3 Million to Woman Alleging Bill Cosby Raped Her in 1972
A jury in Santa Monica found Bill Cosby liable for sexually assaulting an intoxicated woman. The panel awarded the plaintiff roughly $19.25 million in compensatory damages.
Allegations and plaintiff account
The woman, Donna Motsinger, is 84 years old. She says Cosby befriended her while she worked as a waitress at The Trident in Sausalito.
Motsinger alleged Cosby invited her to a recording of his standup show at the Circle Star Theater in San Carlos. She testified she was given wine and two white pills, lost consciousness, and later woke with most of her clothes removed.
Jury findings and damages
Jurors found Cosby liable for sexual assault and sexual battery. They also found he acted with “malice, oppression, or fraud,” allowing punitive damages to be determined later.
The award included $17.5 million for past mental suffering and $1.75 million for future suffering. The total has been reported in some outlets as $19.3 million, and the claim dates to 1972.
Evidence and witness testimony
The trial began on March 10 and lasted nearly two weeks. Testimony included Andrea Constand, Victoria Valentino, and Janice Baker Kinney.
Valentino, a former Playboy model, told jurors about an alleged 1969 encounter involving pills and an assault. Constand, long associated with earlier legal actions against Cosby, also testified about her 2004 encounter.
Depositions and attorney arguments
Spencer Lucas, Motsinger’s attorney, played parts of a videotaped deposition from Cosby. In the deposition, Cosby acknowledged obtaining a Quaalude prescription at a poker game and said he thought of offering pills to women.
Lucas argued Cosby had a pattern of drugging women with sedatives and alcohol. He told jurors Cosby repeatedly obtained pills, citing seven prescription fills totaling 210 Quaalude tablets.
Defendant’s response and legal history
Bill Cosby, now 88, has denied the allegations. He has said any encounters with accusers were consensual.
Cosby’s lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, said the team will appeal and criticized the case as speculative. Cosby was previously convicted in 2018, but Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court overturned that conviction in 2021 due to a prior non-prosecution agreement.
Context and reactions
This trial occurred in the same Santa Monica courthouse where Judy Huth previously won a judgment related to a 1975 incident at the Playboy Mansion. Huth was a minor at the time of the alleged assault.
Caroline Heldman, a professor at Occidental College and a co-founder of Stand With Survivors, praised the verdict. Filmogaz.com spoke with Heldman, who said the decision sends a message about accountability for long-ago sexual violence.
