A
55-year-old woman sued comedian Bill Cosby on Tuesday in Los Angeles
Superior Court claiming sexual battery and infliction of emotional
distress for allegedly molesting her in a bedroom at the Playboy Mansion
when she was 15 years old.
According to the
complaint, Judy Huth and a friend, who was 16 at the time, met Cosby at
an outdoor film set at Lacy Park in Los Angeles County in 1974 and
accepted an invitation to socialize with him at a tennis club the
following week. When they got together, the lawsuit alleges, they played
billiards and Cosby served them alcoholic beverages.
"Under the terms of
Cosby's game, plaintiff was required to consume a beer every time Cosby
won a game," the suit alleges. After the two girls consumed "multiple
alcoholic beverages," Cosby allegedly told them he had a surprise for
them "and led them to another house which turned out to be the Playboy
Mansion."
He told the girls they should say they were 19 if they were asked, according to the lawsuit.
While at the mansion,
Huth said she needed to use the bathroom. Cosby, who was 37 at the time,
allegedly showed her to a bathroom inside a bedroom suite near the
mansion's game room.
"When Plaintiff emerged
from the bathroom, she found COSBY sitting on the bed," the suit states.
"He asked her to sit beside him. He then proceeded to sexually molest
her by attempting to put his hand down her pants, and then taking her
hand in his hand and performing a sex act on himself without her
consent."
Huth stated in the
complaint that the "traumatic incident" left her psychologically and
emotionally scarred, but only recently did she realize why she was so
damaged. She said she "suffered damages that are substantial and
continuing."
In recent weeks, 20
other women have come forward to accuse Cosby of sexual assault —
charges which began to surface a decade ago when the former director of
operations for Temple's women's basketball team sued him for drugging
her and assaulting her in 2004.
The comedian has not been criminally charged and many of the claims are so old, they are barred by statutes of limitations.
Huth's lawsuit, however,
contends that she became aware of the serious effect the abuse had on
her within the past three years. California law allows victims of sex
abuse when they were minors to bring a claim after adulthood if they
discover later in life that they suffered psychological injuries as a
result of the abuse.
An attorney for Cosby
had no immediate comment when contacted by NBC News. He has denounced
previous allegations as unfounded. A representative for Playboy did not
return requests for comment.
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