Bill Cosby Accused of Sexual Assault by Two More Women

One alleged victim claims that she was 17 at the time of the attack

MELBOURNE, FL - NOVEMBER 21: Actor Bill Cosby performs at the King Center for the Performing Arts on November 21, 2014 in Melbourne, Florida. (Photo by Gerardo Mora/Getty Images)
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Two more women came forward to accuse scandal-plagued comedian Bill Cosby of sexual assault on Friday, telling their stories at the office of attorney Gloria Allred.

One of the accusers, Margie Shapiro, alleged that Cosby sexually assaulted her when they went to visit Hugh Hefner‘s mansion. Shapiro told reporters Friday that she met Cosby in 1975 while she was working at a donut shop in Santa Monica, where Cosby ordered dozens of donuts. She claimed that she was invited to Cosby’s film set, where she spent the afternoon with the comedian. Afterward, she was invited to a casual dinner with Cosby, but the dinner was canceled and the comedian invited her to the Playboy Mansion instead, Shapiro, who said she was 19 at the time, continued.

Instead of going to the mansion itself, Shapiro said, the pair entered what she called a “rec place” or “game house,” with numerous pinball machines and a pool table, Shapiro said. Cosby and Shapiro played pinball, the alleged victim said. Shapiro, who told reporters that she was not drinking alcohol at the time, said that Cosby told her that whoever lost at pinball had to take a pill. Shapiro lost and complied, taking the pill, she said.

bill cosby gloria allred margi shapiro sunni welles
Photo: Pamela Chelin

 

According to Shapiro, when she came to, both she and Cosby were naked, and Cosby was inside of her.

Shapiro claims to have “mercifully” passed out again, but every time she regained consciousness, Cosby was touching her sexually. The alleged victim said that Cosby acted as if nothing had happened, eventually telling her that they would not be seeing Hugh Hefner and that she wasn’t dressed nicely enough.

According to Shapiro, a driver took her home. She added that she kept seeing Cosby’s image in her head and was “feeling sick.”

The second accuser, Sunni Welles, claimed that she met Cosby when she was a little girl, due to the fact that her mother was a theatrical agent. According to Welles, her mother considered Cosby to be a friend.

“I once liked Cosby very much, but that has changed now,” Welles said.

According to Welles, in the mid-1960s when she was 17 and her mother was a story editor at Paramount, her mother took her to the set of Cosby’s “I Spy,” where Cosby asked Welles for her number. Cosby then invited Welles to see jazz. Welles, who was auditioning for background singer jobs at the time, was “thrilled” by the invitation.

“My mom was sure I’d be in safe hands with Bill,” Welles recalled.

Welles said that, at the jazz club, she ordered a Coke, and that “things began to become blurry” after she took a sip of it. Welles, who said that she didn’t remember leaving the club or driving anywhere, added that she woke up naked in an apartment where Cosby couldn’t be found. Welles went home and showered, she told reporters, and felt like she had sex.

“I did not want to believe that a family friend would do that to me,” Welles told reporters on Friday.

Calling Cosby a “sexual predator,” a teary-eyed Welles added, “If you are a changed man, Bill, you should admit what you have done … you should be ashamed and tell the truth.”

During the conference, Allred said that Welles will see if she has the option to pursue a lawsuit against Cosby.

In recent months, Cosby has been accused of sexual assault by numerous women, a common theme being that he drugged his alleged victims beforehand. Cosby’s attorney, Martin Singer, has denied the claims.

In the wake of the accusations, Cosby has suffered some career setbacks, with Netflix postponing a comedy special that was to have aired late last year, and NBC shelving a comedy that it was developing as a possible starring vehicle for Cosby.

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