Civil Suit Against Bill Cosby Headed To Trial, Will Examine Allegations He Assaulted A Teen At Playboy Mansion In 1970s

Disgraced comedian Bill Cosby is headed to trial once again, this time in civil court for allegations that he sexually assaulted a teen in the 1970s.

Cosby, 84, stands accused of sexually assaulting Judy Huth at Los Angeles' Playboy Mansion in 1975 when she was about 16. She alleges that the comedian and actor took her and another teen friend to a bedroom of the infamous mansion to assault them. Cosby denies the charge.

"We are eager to fight Judy Huth's 1974 allegations in court," Cosby’s lawyer Jennifer Bonjean previously told Newsweek. "Frankly, it is absurd that Mr. Cosby is expected to defend half-century-old allegations but that's what we will do in May of this year."

Jury selection reportedly began this week and opening statements are scheduled for June 1, according to Fox 11. The trial will mark the first civil suit against Cosby to head to trial; several other accusations have resulted in settlements. 

Earlier this year, Huth said in an amended court filing that she now believes the assault happened in 1975 when she was 16, not in 1974 when she was 15, as the suit originally stated. The clarification led to an outcry by Bonjean, who sought a dismissal, but that was denied. 

Cosby was convicted in 2018 of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in January 2004, but his conviction was overturned after Pennsylvania’s highest court said his due process rights had been violated.

Multiple women became coming forward to accuse Cosby of drugging and raping them in 2014. More than 50 women had come forward in all to claim they were victimized by him. The earliest claim stemmed from an incident in the 1960s and the most recent alleged assault happened in 2008; the allegations span 10 states and one Canadian province.

Bonjean acknowledges that Cosby met Huth and that they spent time at the Playboy mansion but maintains that Huth wasn't a minor, and that there was no sexual assault.

The trial is expected to last about two weeks. Cosby is not required to testify or even be present in court.