Civil Jury Finds Bill Cosby Liable for 1972 Drugging and Sexual Assault of Donna Motsinger
A California civil jury in Santa Monica on March 23, 2026, found 88-year-old Bill Cosby liable for sexually battering and assaulting Donna Motsinger in 1972 after allegedly giving her wine and pills when she was a restaurant server near San Francisco, and ordered him to pay $19.25 million in damages. Jurors awarded $17.5 million for past harm and $1.75 million for future suffering after deliberating just over a day, with a separate punitive-damages phase set to follow. Cosby, who did not testify, intends to appeal, according to his attorney Jennifer Bonjean, and the case comes nearly five years after Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court threw out his 2018 criminal conviction for assaulting Temple University staffer Andrea Constand, who appeared as a witness in this trial. Motsinger first surfaced anonymously in Constand’s 2005 lawsuit and filed her own case in 2023 under California laws expanded in the #MeToo era to allow older sexual-assault claims, echoing allegations from dozens of other women that Cosby has long denied. The verdict underscores how, even after his criminal conviction was vacated, civil juries continue to find Cosby legally responsible for historic assaults, reinforcing the legal and cultural shift that has enabled survivors to seek redress decades later.
📌 Key Facts
- A Santa Monica civil jury found Bill Cosby liable on March 23, 2026, for drugging and sexually assaulting Donna Motsinger in 1972.
- Jurors awarded Motsinger $19.25 million in compensatory damages, including $17.5 million for past harm and $1.75 million for future damages.
- Cosby’s attorney Jennifer Bonjean says he plans to appeal, and the verdict follows a 2018 Pennsylvania criminal conviction that was later thrown out by that state’s Supreme Court.
📊 Relevant Data
California's Assembly Bill 2777, signed into law in 2022, created a three-year lookback window from January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2025, allowing adult survivors of sexual assault to file civil claims that were previously barred by the statute of limitations.
Bill Text: CA AB2777 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Chaptered — LegiScan
From 2017 to 2021, 55.2% of violent incidents involving White victims were committed by White offenders, while 15.1% were committed by Black offenders, according to Bureau of Justice Statistics data.
Violent Victimization by Race or Hispanic Origin, 2008–2021 — Bureau of Justice Statistics
In 2021, 31.8% of rape or sexual assault victimizations were reported to police, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Criminal Victimization, 2021 — Bureau of Justice Statistics
Most of Bill Cosby's accusers are White women, with only a small number identifying as Black, such as at least two among a group of 13 potential witnesses in a prior case.
Black Cosby Accuser Questions Defense Claim of Racial Bias — NBC News
📰 Source Timeline (1)
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