Donna Motsinger has been awarded $19.25 million after a jury found that entertainer Bill Cosby had drugged and raped her, concluding a civil trial centered on allegations dating back more than five decades.
A California civil jury found Cosby liable for sexual assault and sexual battery, awarding Motsinger $17.5 million for past mental suffering and $1.75 million for future suffering. The jury determined that Cosby acted with “malice, oppression, or fraud,” a finding that could open the door for additional punitive damages.
Motsinger, now 84, was a waitress at the Trident in 1972 when she met Cosby, then a frequent patron. According to court filings, she alleged that Cosby groomed her over multiple encounters at the restaurant.
She later accepted an invitation to attend a recording of his stand-up show, Inside the Mind of Bill Cosby. On the way to the show, Motsinger alleged that Cosby gave her wine, and, after she began to feel ill, provided her with what she believed was aspirin.
“Next thing she knew, she was going in and out of consciousness while two men attending to Mr. Cosby were putting her in the limousine with Mr. Cosby,” the filing states. “In the limousine, Mr. Cosby sat near the window and put his arms around her.”
Motsinger later woke in her house with all her clothes off, believing she had been drugged and sexually assaulted, according to the complaint.
The verdict came after a nearly two-week trial and three days of jury deliberations.
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It adds to long-standing allegations against Cosby, now 88, whose public image has been tarnished in recent years as dozens of women have accused him of sexual misconduct. Cosby has consistently denied the allegations, maintaining that all encounters were consensual.
In a separate case, Cosby was convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004 and sentenced to three to 10 years in prison. That conviction was overturned on appeal in 2021, and he was released.
