It’s once again another day, another lawsuit for disgraced comedian and actor Bill Cosby, stemming this time from former Playboy model Victoria Valentino.
According to NBC News, Valentino alleged that Cosby drugged and raped her back in 1969 after she and her roommate went out to dinner with him. She’s reportedly been public about the incident for years but is just now taking him to civil court thanks to California’s new law that provides accusers with a certain window of time to sue the accused even after the statute of limitations has expired.
Per court documents, Valentino said she and her roommate first met Cosby at a restaurant in Los Angeles and that he offered to pay for a spa day and dinner afterwards for the two. After dinner, she claimed that the comedian offered them a pill that would make them all “feel better” and put it directly in their mouths. They reportedly began to feel sick after and asked to go back home, but Cosby allegedly took them to his house instead. From there, the night took a turn.
NBC News with more:
Valentino said she thinks she must have passed out after Cosby got them out of the car, because, she said, she woke up in a room with Cosby sitting by her roommate.
“He looked like he was getting ready to pounce on a little mouse,” she said. “And then I saw a bulge in his pants, and I knew he was going to rape her while she was unconscious. I just felt very protective of her, and I tried to distract him.”
She said that she began grasping at Cosby, who was out of her reach, and that she couldn’t quite form words in her state. Cosby then came over to her, she said, seemingly angry at her attempts to stop him. Valentino said that when she stood up, she immediately felt her legs collapse beneath her and ended up kneeling in front of Cosby, who was on a love seat. Cosby then orally and vaginally raped her.
In a statement responding to the suit, Cosby’s spokesperson Andrew Wyatt said:
“What graveyard can Mr. Cosby visit, in order to dig up potential witnesses to testify on his behalf? America is continuing to see that this a formula to make sure that no more Black Men in America accumulate the American Dream that was secured by Mr. Cosby.”
In response to Wyatt, Valentino countered, “Andrew Wyatt has tried to make it seem as though it’s about race, but it’s not about race. Cosby was an equal opportunity rapist and probably the most prolific serial rapist of the 20th century. This is about rape, not race.”
Additionally, Cosby could also face the possibility of another new suit, this time in the state of Nevada stemming from the alleged drugging of Lise-Lotte Lublin back in 1989. The civil suit, should it officially be filed, would also be made possible with the help of the state’s new law SB129 which was passed on Wednesday. SB129 eliminates the civil statute of limitations in adult sexual abuse cases, whereas before there was a two year limit.
Cosby currently faces an additional civil suit from five other women in new York. He continues to maintain his innocence for every allegation.