Judy Huth’s civil sexual assault lawsuit against Bill Cosby is now headed to jury deliberations following closing arguments on Wednesday by plaintiff and defense attorneys, the New York Times reported Wednesday. Deliberations will likely start on Thursday.
Huth woman alleges that Cosby sexually assaulted her at the Playboy Mansion in 1974, when she was 15 years old. The actor and comedian was previously deposed in the case in October 2014′ Huth initially said the assault took place in 1975 but later revised the timeline to 1974. Cosby’s team unsuccessfully attempted to have the case thrown out of court over that change.
Huth claimed that Cosby brought her to the Playboy Mansion in 1974, instructing her to say that she was 19 if anyone asked.
“While at the Playboy Mansion, plaintiff told Cosby that she needed to use the bathroom,” Huth’s lawsuit against Cosby reads. “Cosby directed her to a bathroom within a bedroom suite near the game room. When plaintiff emerged from the bathroom, she found Cosby sitting on the bed. He asked her to sit beside him. He then proceeded to sexually molest her by attempting to put his hand down her pants, and then taking her hand in his hand and performing a sex act on himself without her consent.”
Cosby, who has long maintained his innocence against accusations of sexual assault, was released last June after he served three years of a three-to-10-year state prison sentence over a felony sexual assault charge from 2018. In overturning the conviction, the state’s Supreme Court ruled that Cosby cannot be retried and that the prosecutor who brought the case was bound by an agreement from his predecessor to not bring charges.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case, leaving in place a decision by Pennsylvania’s highest court to throw out his conviction and set him free.