Cosby to pay damages

Bill Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted a former waitress in 1972 after escorting her to one of his shows, a civil jury in California concluded yesterday, awarding the woman $US19.25 million ($NZ33m) in damages.

The verdict was the latest turn in a series of legal battles the disgraced entertainer, now 88, has faced since allegations he repeatedly drugged and raped women exploded publicly about a decade ago. He served about three years in a Pennsylvania prison on sexual assault charges before that case was overturned in 2021.

Donna Motsinger, now 84, said in her lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court that Cosby had given her wine and a pill that left her unable to move, and that she woke up in her house wearing only her underwear, and she knew she had been drugged and raped by Cosby, allegations he has denied. — TCA