A jury in Santa Monica on Monday awarded damages of $19.25 million against disgraced stand-up comedian Bill Cosby

Cosby 88, was was found liable of drugging and sexually assaulting the woman in 1972

Donna Motsinger, 84, first complained in a separate 2005 lawsuit that Cosby drugged and raped her after escorting her to one of his shows 54 years ago

After deliberating for just over a day, jurors awarded Motsinger $17.5 million in past damages

Another $1.75 million was awarded for future damages, including “mental suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, inconvenience, grief, anxiety, humiliation, and emotional distress”

A jury in Santa Monica on Monday awarded damages of $19.5 million against disgraced stand-up comedian Bill Cosby, [photo], 88, after he was was found liable of drugging and raping a woman in 1972

On Monday, a civil jury in California found that the disgraced comedian drugged and sexually assaulted Donna Motsinger after escorting her to one of his shows 54 years ago.
The jury in the civil lawsuit sitting in California found Monday that Bill Cosby was liable for drugging and sexually assaulting the woman in 1972 and awarded her $19.25 million.
At the end of the two-week trial in Santa Monica, jurors found the 88-year-old Cosby liable for the sexual battery and assault of Motsinger.
The decision came nearly five years after Cosby was freed from prison in Pennsylvania when the state Supreme Court threw out a criminal conviction based on similar allegations.
In her 2023 lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Motsinger then working as a waitress at a restaurant in Sausalito near San Francisco claimed the comedian had invited her to his stand-up comedy show at a theater in nearby San Carlos, when they were both in their 30s.
The drugging and rape occurred the same night Cosby recorded what would become his best-selling album ‘Inside the Mind of Bill Cosby’.
Motsinger said that after Cosby gave her wine and two pills that she believed were aspirin, she was drifting in and out of consciousness as two men put her in a limousine.
She claimed that “She woke up in her house with all her clothes off, except her underwear on – no top, no bra, and no pants.”
The complainant stated that “She knew she had been drugged and raped by Bill Cosby.”
Cosby’s lawyers in their counter motion argued that her allegations rested almost entirely on speculation and assumption, pointing out that Motsinger, now 84, “freely admits that she has no idea what happened.”
After deliberating for just over a day, jurors awarded Motsinger $17.5 million in past damages and $1.75 million for future damages, including “mental suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, inconvenience, grief, anxiety, humiliation, and emotional distress.”

For the civil trial, the prosecution called to the stand Andrea Constand, [right], the Temple University sports administrator Bill Cosby was convicted of sexually assaulting in a Pennsylvania criminal court in 2018

Motsinger’s lawsuit echoed allegations of rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment made by at least 60 women against Cosby, all of which he has denied
Cosby did not testify at the trial, whose witnesses included Andrea Constand, the Temple University sports administrator he was convicted of sexually assaulting in a Pennsylvania criminal court in 2018.
He was sentenced three to ten years in prison. However, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court threw out the verdict and Cosby was freed from prison after serving nearly three years of his sentence.
Motsinger’s accusations was always linked to that case. In 2005 she made those allegations anonymously in a 2005 lawsuit filed by Constand.
Both of these women have forgone their anonymity, coming forward publicly and consenting to be named.
In 2022, a jury in Santa Monica awarded $500,000 to a woman who said Cosby sexually assaulted her at the Playboy Mansion when she was a teenager in 1975. However, his previous conviction following multiple allegations of serial sexual assault was overturned on appeal because the court found that he gave incriminating testimony in a deposition only after believing he had immunity from prosecution.
“It has been 54 years to get justice, and I know it’s not complete for the rest of the women, but I hope it helps them a little bit,” Motsinger said after the verdict .
The fine imposed is “icing on the cake,” she said.
Cosby’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, signaled the disappointment of the defense with the verdict which they intend to appeal.