Sexual Assault and #MeToo Accountability

A civil jury found Bill Cosby liable for the 1972 drugging and sexual assault of Donna Motsinger and awarded $19.25 million in compensatory damages — $17.5 million for past mental trauma and $1.75 million for future suffering — and the trial moved immediately into a punitive-damages phase. Motsinger’s lawsuit, which also named Cosby’s production company Jemmin, Inc. and the former Circle Star Theater for allegedly failing to ensure guest safety, described wine in a limousine, an alleged pill given in her dressing room, loss of consciousness and waking at home partially undressed; Cosby’s attorney Jennifer Bonjean said they are disappointed and will appeal.