Stacey Pinkerton: Bill Cosby accuser sues disgraced comedian for drugging and sexually assaulting her in 1986
Warning: The following article contains recollection of sexual abuse that may trigger some readers. Discretion is advised.
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: A Bill Cosby accuser has filed a lawsuit against the disgraced comedian alleging that he drugged and sexually assaulted her in 1986 when she was 21 years old, according to court documents. Stacey Pinkerton has reportedly claimed that Cosby drugged her and then raped her.
Pinkerton alleges the comedian, 85, groomed and "manipulated [her] into believing that he was trying to help [her] career" as a model and actress before he allegedly raped her in March 1986, according to a Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit. Pinkerton claims that the comedian gave her money, booked her a hotel room, and even invited her to appear on one of his shows. However, the lawsuit claims that her scene was ultimately deleted from the episode that aired on March 20, 1986. However, on one occasion in March of that year, according to the court documents, Cosby's assistant asked Pinkerton to meet him at an Italian restaurant in Illinois where he "drugged [her] meal without her knowledge," before dragging her into a car and driving her to a room at the Drake Hotel in Chicago.
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The lawsuit claims that "Cosby engaged in forced sexual intercourse" with Pinkerton, who "was incapable of consent by reason of being physically helpless." According to the lawsuit, Pinkerton "escaped hours later" while Cosby was asleep. She didn't speak up because "Cosby exerted his power, influence, and status" over her, as reported by the New York Post. The lawsuit further states that later, Cosby's assistant invited her to his 'Bill Cosby: 49' event in Chicago in September of that year where she intended to confront him. Instead, Cosby kissed Pinkerton forcibly and grabbed her butt before she screamed and "was removed from the theater by production staff." Cosby was sued by five additional women recently who claimed he had drugged, grabbed, raped, and sexually assaulted them.
“In light of the New York legislature’s move to abolish the statute of limitations, it’s not really surprising that there is a wave of new lawsuits,” Cosby’s attorney Jennifer Bonjean told New York Post. “We are going to examine [the lawsuits] one at a time and address them in the courts and he is going to assert all defenses available to him.”
Numerous women have accused Cosby of sexual assault earlier but he has vigorously refuted the allegations. In a subsequent civil trial, he was found guilty of abusing a teenage girl sexually in 1975. He was sentenced to 10 years in jail in 2018 after being found guilty of aggravated indecent assault but the verdict was reversed on appeal and he was freed in June 2021.