Woman sues Bill Cosby, saying he sexually assaulted her when she was 15
A Southern California woman has filed a lawsuit against Bill Cosby, alleging that he sexually assaulted her at the Playboy Mansion in 1974, when she was 15.
Under California law, the most serious sexual assaults involving minor victims can be charged criminally only if they happened after 1988, the Los Angeles Times reports.
In the suit, Judy Hauth said she met Cosby in 1974 when he was filming on location in a park. Cosby allegedly went up to Hauth and a friend, asked how old they were, and invited the girls to his tennis club over the weekend. After meeting at the club, the pair went to a house where Cosby "served them alcoholic beverages and played games of billiards," the suit claims, and then made their way to the Playboy Mansion.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The lawsuit says that while in a bedroom at the mansion, Cosby allegedly tried to "put his hands down her pants," and then allegedly took Hauth's hand and performed a sexual act on himself "without her consent," a "traumatic incident...[that] has caused psychological damage and mental anguish for plaintiff that has caused her significant problems throughout her life." Before the suit was filed, Cosby's attorney, Martin D. Singer, said lawsuits are brought against celebrities "every day" and there has "never been a shortage of lawyers" willing to take cases against "rich, powerful men."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
The Onion is having a very ironic laugh with Infowars
The Explainer The satirical newspaper is purchasing the controversial website out of bankruptcy
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
'Rahmbo, back from Japan, will be looking for a job? Really?'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
What's next for electric vehicles under Trump?
Today's Big Question And what does that mean for Tesla's Elon Musk?
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments law
Speed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'
Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security law
Speed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitution
speed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidence
Speed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulations
Speed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Greece legalizes same-sex marriage
Speed Read Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump and his lawyer Alina Habba have a rough day in defamation court
Speed Read Trump's audible grousing as E. Jean Carroll testified earned him a warning he could be thrown out of court, and Habba showed she 'doesn't know what the hell she's doing'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published