New Bill Cosby Lawsuit Claims Comedian Sexually Abused High School Student

Renita Hill alleges that she was abused for years after being chosen as co-host of Cosby’s educational series “Picture Pages”

SELMA, AL - MAY 15: Bill Cosby participates in the Black Belt Community Foundation's March for Education across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on May 15, 2015 in Selma, Alabama. (Photo by David A. Smith/Getty Images)
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Bill Cosby has been slapped with another lawsuit, this time by a woman who claims that the comedian sexually abused her for years, starting when she was a minor in high school.

The suit, obtained by TheWrap, was filed Wednesday in Pennsylvania and claims Renita Hill met Cosby when he was searching for a co-host for an episode of his 1984 educational show “Picture Pages.” According to Hill, after choosing her as a co-host, Cosby presented himself as a mentor, requesting that she travel to see him at locations where he was performing, such as Atlantic City, New York City and Denver.

Hill, who at the time was Renita Chaney, claims that when she would arrive at a hotel during these trips, and there would be an alcoholic beverage waiting for her to consume. Later, the suit claims, she would be summoned to Cosby’s room, where the comedian would tell her to drink a glass of wine. Most of the time, Hill claims, she would lose consciousness after taking the drink and later wake up in her room “oftentimes nude, disheveled, confused and disoriented.”

“[I]t soon became clear to Renita that she was being assaulted and taken advantage of during these occasions, and that she was not just ‘blacking out’ from alcohol intake,” the suit reads.

Hill claims that after this happened a few times, she told Cosby that she didn’t want the drinks that he gave her anymore, but was told by the TV legend that she wouldn’t be allowed to visit him anymore “and his reported tutelage of her would end.”

The suit claims that, on one occasion, Hill’s drink wasn’t drugged enough to totally knock her out, and she “distinctly remembers Cosby kissing her, touching her vaginal area and her breasts. She specifically recalls Cosby becoming angry when she commented on his cigar breath.”

The alleged abuse lasted from approximately 1983 to 1987, the suit claims. Hill claims that during this period, Cosby paid her tuition at Temple University and Spelman College.

Hill is suing for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress, claiming that Cosby’s alleged sexual abuse of her was “egregious in nature,” and Cosby, his attorney and wife made defamatory statements to the media after she went public with her accusations.

As a result, the lawsuit claims, Hill “has suffered and may continue to suffer pain, suffering, mental anguish and embarrassment, as well as a loss of earnings and earning capacity.

The suit seeks unspecified damages.

In the past year, Cosby has been accused of sexual assault or rape by dozens of women, many of whom claim that he drugged them beforehand. In the wake of the accusations, Cosby has suffered several career setbacks, and faces multiple lawsuits.

An attorney for Cosby has not yet responded to TheWrap’s request for comment on this latest lawsuit.

Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.






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