Bill Cosby faces intercourse abuse allegations once more as civil trial opens

By Associated Press

SANTA MONICA: Bill Cosby will once more be going through intercourse abuse allegations Wednesday as attorneys give opening statements in a civil trial that is one of many final remaining authorized claims in opposition to the comic.

Lawyers for 64-year-old Judy Huth will define the proof they plan to current that Cosby compelled her to carry out a intercourse act on the Playboy Mansion in 1975 when she was 16 years previous. The case will hinge on the testimony of Huth, bolstered by images and different archival displays to position the incident in time.

Cosby’s attorneys, who say no sexual abuse occurred, are more likely to emphasize that the burden of proving the practically 50-year-old case lies solely with the plaintiffs. They have acknowledged that Cosby took Huth to the Playboy Mansion, as a photograph from the go to reveals, however say they consider she was not a minor when it occurred.

The trial is among the final circumstances Cosby, 85, faces after a Pennsylvania appeals court docket threw out his felony sexual assault conviction and freed him from jail 11 months in the past. Several different lawsuits alleging sexual misconduct had been settled by his insurer in opposition to his will.

Cosby is not going to testify after the decide dominated that he might assert his Fifth Amendment privilege in opposition to self-incrimination. And he has no plans to go away his Pennsylvania dwelling to attend the trial, which is going down at a small courthouse in Santa Monica. Cosby’s representatives say glaucoma has left him blind and made journey too tough.

The Associated Press doesn’t usually identify individuals who say they’ve been sexually abused, until they arrive ahead publicly, as Huth has.