Civil Trial Jury Finds Bill Cosby Guilty

After several days of deliberation, the jury has officially found Bill Cosby, now at the age of 84, guilty of sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl at the infamous Los Angeles Playboy Mansion in 1975.

Bill Cosby, once known as America’s Dad, has reached a new low with his reputation after this two week trial. During the full two weeks, Cosby did not show up to testify due to his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

In 2018, he was convicted of drugging and molesting a woman in his home in 2004. Just a year ago, the conviction was overturned and Cosby was released from prison after serving for three years.

Now Cosby has once again found himself in a predicament with the judicial system. Judy Huth, now 64, testified to the civil jury that Bill Cosby had brought both her (at the age of 16) and another underaged friend into a room, where he then forced her to perform sexual acts. 

In order to reach a verdict, the jury had to have a 9 voting majority out of 12. They were shown a photo of Judy Huth and Bill Cosby in the Playboy Mansion as Huth gave her testimony. The defense claimed that Huth had been offering the photo of her and Cosby together to tabloids for a payout. Cosby’s lawyers also attempted to argue that the encounter between Huth and Cosby had happened after she was 18.

Since Cosby was found guilty, the court has ordered him to pay Judy Huth a total of $500,000, which appeared to be less than Huth’s lawyers had hoped for. Cosby will not receive any criminal charges, due to the length of time between the case and the encounter. 

Huth was able to sue Cosby because of a California law put into place protecting victims who may not realize they’ve been assaulted as a minor until they are older. Without that law, the court would have never seen this trial that shines a spotlight on accountability in the entertainment world.