A lawyer for a woman who accused Bill Cosby of assaulting her at the Playboy Mansion in the mid-1970s told a California jury on Wednesday the comedian had a sense of "entitlement," while Cosby's lawyer called the alleged assault a "fabrication."
The statements came at the start of a civil trial for Cosby, 11 months after he was freed from prison when Pennsylvania's highest court threw out his sexual assault conviction in a different case.
Cosby's current accuser, Judy Huth, sued him in 2014 for sexual assault, seeking unspecified damages. She said he brought her to the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles and forced her to perform a sex act around 1974, when she was 15.
Huth said she and a friend had met Cosby at a film set, and that Cosby invited the girls to meet him the next week, when he made Huth drink beer and molested her on a bed. She is seeking unspecified damages for sexual battery and emotional distress.
In his opening statement, Huth's lawyer Nathan Goldberg emphasized to the Santa Monica jury how Cosby was already a "star" when he met Huth, and he showed jurors a photo of them together from the day Huth said she was assaulted.
"He has a sense of entitlement, and no fear," Goldberg said, referring to Cosby. "He has a sense of invincibility."
Cosby's lawyer Jennifer Bonjean countered in her opening statement the alleged assault 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.
Cosby is not expected to attend the trial.
Now 84, Cosby 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.
Donna Samuelson, a friend of Huth who said she was with her on the day of the alleged assault, told jurors that Huth told her what happened after Cosby left the pair at the mansion.
"She was crying, very, very upset," Samuelson said, adding that Huth said she had not wanted anyone to know about the incident.
Goldberg said Huth will testify, as will two other women who said Cosby assaulted them in 1975. The trial is expected to last about two weeks.
In 2018, Cosby was found guilty of drugging and molesting Andrea Constand, an employee at his alma mater 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 local district attorney had publicly promised in 2005 not to prosecute him. In March, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review that decision.
Reuters
Thu Jun 02 2022
Bill Cosby is welcomed outside his home after Pennsylvania's highest court overturned his sexual assault conviction and ordered him released from prison immediately, in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, U.S., June 30, 2021. - REUTERS/Filepic
Piala FA: Kehadiran Faisal Halim dalam bilik persalinan cetus emosi, inspirasi luar biasa pemain Selangor
"Dia datang 30 minit sebelum sepak mula, tiada siapa sangka, saya juga tidak diberitahu dan agak terkejut," kata ketua jurulatih The Red Giants.
Euro 2024: Trofi bersama England lambang puncak kerjaya - Harry Kane
Harry Kane menaruh impian untuk menamatkan kemarau trofinya dalam Euro 2024.
Euro 2024: Ketua jurulatih terpaksa minta maaf kepada penyokong Croatia
"Saya minta maaf atas persembahan buruk ini hari ini. Kami tidak cukup agresif."
Insiden Balai Polis Ulu Tiram: Semangat juang Sarjan Hasif kekal tempur walau cedera
Semangat juang sebagai anggota Sang Saka Biru mendorong Sarjan Mohd Hasif cuba menghentikan insiden tembakan di Balai Polis Ulu Tiram, Johor meskipun beliau mengalami kecederaan.
Penyasaran subsidi diesel tidak seharusnya akibatkan kenaikan harga barang - Mydin
Penyasaran subsidi diesel tidak seharusnya mengakibatkan kenaikan harga barangan, kata Pengarah Urusan Mydin Mohamed Holdings Berhad, Ameer Ali Mydin.
Aidiladha: Penternak rumus makanan lembu sendiri, jaga kualiti daging, jimat kos
Seorang penternak di Sungai Merab menghasilkan rumusan makanan sendiri untuk lembu bagi ibadah korban.
Jualan Agro MADANI FAMA bantu rakyat jimat hingga 30 peratus
Ketua Pengarah FAMA harap rakyat Pahang mendapat manfaat daripada program yang diadakan selama tiga hari bermula 12 hingga 15 Jun itu.
Negeri digesa melabur dalam pembangunan bakat baharu renang, terjun
KBS gesa semua kerajaan negeri membuat pelaburan untuk pembangunan bakat baharu bagi melahirkan lebih ramai atlet dalam sukan renang dan terjun.
Kate Middleton sertai Trooping the Colour bersama ahli keluarga
Puteri Wales menyertai ahli keluarganya di acara perarakan tahunan tentera, Trooping the Colour pada Sabtu.
Euro 2024: Modric menyamai rekod Cristiano Ronaldo
Luka Modric menyamai rekod jumlah penyertaan pemain terbaik dunia, Cristiano Ronaldo, yang membuat penampilan dalam lima kejohanan Euro terakhir, awal pagi tadi.
Bill Cosby sekali lagi disaman dakwaan terbaharu serangan seksual
Valentino memfailkan kes itu di Mahkamah Tinggi Daerah Los Angeles pada Jumaat mengikut undang-undang baharu.
Pendakwa raya gesa Mahkamah Tinggi kembalikan sabitan serangan seksual Bill Cosby
Cosby menghadapi bertubi-tubi dakwaan serangan seksual yang kemudian memusnahkan imejnya sebagai "American Dad"
Bill Cosby bebas selepas mahkamah batal sabitan cabul
Cosby sebelum ini dipenjara 10 tahun atas kesalahan mencabul bekas pemain bola keranjang Andrea Constand.
Pelawak Bill Cosby dipenjara 3 hingga 10 tahun
Mahkamah daerah Montgomery menolak permohonan ikat jamin Cosby sekali gus menyaksikan beliau bermalam di penjara sementara menanti proses rayuan oleh pihak pembelaan.
Serangan seksual: Bill Cosby, Roman Polanski disingkir akademi seni
Bekas lagenda komedi Bill Cosby dan pengarah filem Roman Polanski dibuang dari Akademi Sains dan Seni Perfileman kerana tuduhan melakukan serangan seksual.
Cosby bersalah serangan seksual puluhan mangsa
Juri yang bersidang lebih 14 jam untuk dua hari, mendapati Bill Cosby bersalah kesemua tiga tuduhan serangan seksual.
Aktivis separuh bogel ancam Bill Cosby
Seorang aktivis wanita mencetuskan kekecohan di luar mahkamah semalam, apabila cuba menyerang pelawak terkenal Bill Cosby.
Fakta anda perlu tahu tentang bekas ikon komedi Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby merupakan nama besar dalam dunia penyiaran dan pernah diangkat sebagai ikon komedi satu ketika dahulu.
Cosby akan dibicara atas tuduhan seksual - Hakim
Seorang hakim di Pennsylvania pada Rabu memutuskan bahawa legenda televisyen, Bill Cosby sepatutnya dibicarakan atas tuduhan serangan seksual ke atas seorang wanita di kediamannya di Philadelphia.
35 wanita dakwa dirogol Bill Cosby tampil di muka depan majalah 'New York'
Muka hadapan majalah berkenaan turut menampilkan kerusi ke-36 untuk mewakili mangsa seterusnya untuk bersuara.