NEW YORK: American comedian, actor and media personality Bill Cosby is facing a new litigation from former Playboy model Victoria Valentino, who alleged that he drugged and sexually assaulted her.
The 80-year-old Victoria Valentino has alleged Cosby raped her in 1969 after she had dinner with him.
Cosby was released from jail after the sexual assault conviction against him was reversed in 2021.
Valentino has filed a civil lawsuit after California legislation temporarily waived the statute of limitations in sexual assault prosecutions.
She claims in the lawsuit that after she and her colleague took the drugs Cosby gave them, he drove them to a neighbouring office. She claims that it was there that she lost consciousness and woke up to be sexually assaulted.
According to the petition, she said, “I want to go home now” while being “incapable of consent” and physically powerless.
Unknown damages, court costs, and legal fees were what Valentino was demanding.
In a statement, Valentino said that “not only me, but my children and grandchildren” had been impacted by the anguish the 85-year-old had caused her.
In the statement sent to US media, she stated, “By breaking my silence and speaking my truth, I hope this serves as my legacy to my family and shows those survivors who have yet to find their voices that hope and healing are possible.”
Cosby’s spokesperson, Andrew Wyatt, told US media outlets that Valentino’s accusations lacked “any proof or facts” and that her “many statements” were inconsistent.
Cosby, who was formerly popularly known as “America’s Dad,” featured in the popular comedy The Cosby Show in the 1980s.
Bill Cosby’s rise, fall and release
However, hundreds of women came forward with allegations of rape, sexual harassment, and other inappropriate behaviour dating back to the 1960s, shattering his image. Cosby has always refuted the accusations, insisting that every one of his sex acts was consensual.
He was found guilty of aggravated indecent assault against Andrea Constand in 2018 in Pennsylvania.
However, the conviction was reversed after the state’s highest court determined that Mr. Cosby should not have been placed on trial because he had made a deal with an earlier prosecutor in 2005 that he would not be charged.
In a civil trial last year, a jury in California decided that Cosby had molested a 16-year-old at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles in 1975. He was asked to pay $500,000 (£399,000) in damages.
