Jurors reach verdict in Bill Cosby sex abuse case from 1975
Jurors have reached a verdict in a lawsuit by a woman who says Bill Cosby sexually abused her at the Playboy Mansion in 1975
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Jurors reached a verdict Tuesday in a lawsuit by a woman who says Bill Cosby sexually abused her at the Playboy Mansion in 1975.
The Los Angeles County Superior Court jury said it reached its verdict about 30 minutes after the forewoman told the judge they were deadlocked.
Jurors had been stuck on the question of whether to award punitive damages to Judy Huth. In order to reach that question on the verdict form, jurors had to decide if Cosby harmed Huth when she was 16 and arrive at some figure for compensatory damages.
If the jury decides Cosby acted with malice, another phase of trial will determine punitive damages.
Cosby, 84, who was freed from prison when his Pennsylvania criminal conviction was thrown out nearly a year ago, has not attended the trial that lasted more than two weeks. He denied any sexual contact with Huth in a clip from a 2015 video deposition shown to jurors. The denial has been repeated throughout the trial by his spokesman and his attorney.
The verdict followed an unusual set of circumstances after a juror was excused Friday as the panel had resolved all the issues except whether to award punitive damages.
An alternate was chosen and jurors had to begin deliberations anew on Monday. They quickly seemed to arrive at the same impasse about whether to punish Cosby for his behavior.
Cosby lawyer Jennifer Bonjean moved for a mistrial when the jury said it couldn’t resolve its differences. But Judge Craig Karlan said the jury had deliberated less than eight hours over two days. He said he might keep them another day.
Word came from the jury room that a verdict was reached soon thereafter.
It was to be read at 3:30 p.m. local time.
The Associated Press does not normally name people who say they have been sexually abused, unless they come forward publicly, as Huth has.
___
AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton contributed to this report.