Comedian Bill Cosby, who has been the subject of more than a dozen
sex abuse allegations over the past two months, will not be charged in
connection with a 1974 molestation claim, the Los Angeles County
District Attorney’s office said yesterday.
Prosecutors concluded allegations that The Cosby Show star sexually
molested a 15-year-old girl at the Playboy Mansion were too old and
surpassed the state’s statute of limitations for either a felony or
misdemeanour charge.
“Given that 40 years have passed since the alleged incident,
prosecution... is declined due to the expiration of the statute of
limitations,” the official charge evaluation document states.
The accuser, Judy Huth, now 56, has also sued Cosby in Los Angeles,
alleging that Cosby made her drink beer before molesting her in a
bedroom at the Los Angeles mansion.
Cosby, 77, has yet to be charged and the allegations against him,
which date as far back as the 1960s, are too old for most criminal
charges or civil complaints.
Cosby’s attorney, Marty Singer, has called allegations against the
trailblazing African-American comedian “discredited” and “defamatory”.
Singer and Cosby’s publicist did not immediately response to requests seeking comment about the prosecutor’s decision.
Cosby’s wife and one of his four daughters have defended him in public statements over the past two days.
Evin Cosby, 38, said in a statement that Cosby “is the father you
thought you knew”, echoing the statement of her mother, Camille Cosby,
who publicly defended her husband for the first time on Monday.
The statements by Camille and Evin Cosby have drawn on the comedian’s
affable TV persona as the wholesome father Dr Cliff Huxtable on the
top-rated series The Cosby Show.
The comedian, who has largely remained silent, has had two television
projects shelved and several stand-up performances cancelled since the
numerous allegations started last month.
In 2006, Cosby settled a lawsuit alleging sexual misconduct. Another
accuser, Tamara Green, has sued Cosby for defamation. Cosby’s most
high-profile accusers include models Janice Dickinson and Beverly
Johnson. Dickinson alleges that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her
in 1982 while Johnson alleges Cosby drugged her in the mid-1980s.
SOURCE: Reuters
