Bill Cosby trial verdict: 'America's Dad' found GUILTY of sexually abusing Judy Huth in 1975
![Bill Cosby, 84, was found guilty of sexually assaulting Judy Huth (inset) on June 21 in Los Angeles (Matt Rourke/Getty Images, CBS/YouTube)](http://d2a0gza273xfgz.cloudfront.net/573889/uploads/7053f140-f1ca-11ec-ae1b-c7e2d0be15a3_1200_630.png)
The Santa Monica panel on Tuesday, June 21, found Bill Cosby, 84, once popularly known as 'America's Dad', guilty of sexually abusing Judy Huth when she was 16-year-old at the Play Boy Mansion after the long trial. The jury gave the final verdict in favor of Huth and also awarded her $500,000 in damages. The jury handed over their verdict to LA Superior Court Judge Craig Karlan with plaintiff Judy Huth, her legal team, and Cosby’s defense team in attendance in the courtroom.
The panel’s decision in favor of Huth was read at about 3:30 pm local time. The 64-year-old testified that Cosby molested her and accused him of trying to put his hand down her tight pants and exposing himself before he forced her to touch him sexually on a bed in a “blue room,” which she said was adjacent to the game room at the mansion. She claimed to have told Cosby that she was on her menstrual cycle, even though she was not in hopes that he would stop. “I was trying to deflect,” she said. “But he didn’t stop. I just closed my eyes. … It was so fast. Maybe five minutes. Quick.”
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Claiming his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, Cosby did not testify in the two-week trial, unlike Huth. A 2015 video deposition by the actor was played to the court and jurors during the trial, but he denied the allegations. Cosby’s spokesperson, Andrew Wyatt, told The Post that the comedian plans to file an appeal on the $500,000 judgment. “Mr. Cosby continues to maintain his innocence and will vigorously fight these false accusations so that he can get back to bringing the pursuit of happiness, joy, and laughter to the world,” Wyatt said in a statement.
Cosby’s defense team focused on calling Huth a liar because she changed the timeline of the story. In a 2014 lawsuit, she said the assault took place in 1973 or 1974. But before the trial began, Huth and her attorneys said that further investigation of the evidence allowed them to determine that it actually happened in the spring of 1975.
“Can you imagine how hard it is to defend a case when you start with the label of sexual predator?” Cosby's attorney Jennifer Bonjean told the jurors, reminding them they were chosen because they promised they would be able to consider only the facts presented in court. “If we were just going to try people based on labels, then why have trials at all?” Whereas, Huth’s attorney Nathan Goldberg told the jury that “my client deserves to have Mr. Cosby held accountable for what he did.” “Each of you knows in your heart that Mr. Cosby sexually assaulted Miss Huth,” Goldberg said.
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The former star of 'The Cosby Show' has been accused by multiple women of drugging and sexual assault, but Huth’s case is the first civil trial based on the allegations. Cosby had been convicted in Pennsylvania criminal court for assaulting Andrea Constand, but he was released from prison last year when the state’s highest court ruled a deal with prosecutors meant he should’ve never faced criminal trial.
Soon after the trial, Cosby's representative did not see the verdict as negative. “This was a huge victory for us because they were looking for millions of dollars,” Andrew Wyatt said Tuesday, June 21 of the $500,000 Huth received in damages. “That amount will not cover the legal bills and we will be appealing that matter. However, Mr. Cosby will not be paying punitive damages.”
Whereas on the other side, Huth's representative Gloria Allred expressed her own sense of victory and pride. "First, we thank the jury for their verdict of compensatory damages that they have awarded our client, Ms. Huth. The verdict is $500,000. Second, we thank our client Judy Huth for her courage and many sacrifices to win justice in this case."