Bill Cosby rape allegations: downfall of an American hero

As many as 13 women claim he gave them pills and alcohol and they woke up to find themselves violated

Bill Cosby
(Image credit: Getty Images Entertainment)

EDITOR'S UPDATE: Since this column was posted, Associated Press reports that on 2 December 2014 Judy Huth, aged 55, filed a lawsuit against Bill Cosby at the Los Angeles county superior court, claiming he assaulted her sexually at the Playboy Mansion in 1974 when she was 15.

Few stars have had as far to fall as Bill Cosby, the beloved comedian whose 1980s sitcom The Cosby Show not only made him a record-breaking fortune, but earned him the status of ‘America’s Dad’ for his portrayal of amiable patriarch Cliff Huxtable.

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Charles Laurence is a US correspondent for The Week.co.uk. He is a former New York bureau chief for The Daily Telegraph. He divides his time between Manhattan and Woodstock, upstate New York.