Nine women have filed lawsuits against Bill Crosby for alleged crimes dating back decades — after a new law lifted the statute of limitations on civil cases in Nevada.
The nine plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit in the US District Court for Nevada are Janice Dickinson, Lise-Lotte Lublin, Janice Baker Kinney, Lili Bernard, Heidi Thomas, Linda Kirkpatrick, Rebecca Cooper, Pam Joy Abeyta and Angela Leslie.
During his entertainment career, 85-year-old Cosby has been accused by at least 60 women of a slew of sex crimes, all of which he denies.
The latest legal challenge accuses him of drugging and raping the women, including up-and-coming actresses and models, in Las Vegas. Many of the alleged abuses took place after his shows, the lawsuit says.
Cosby’s spokesperson accused the nine women of fighting “for their addiction to massive amounts of media attention and greed,” NBC News reported.
Nine women have filed a lawsuit against Bill Crosby for alleged crimes dating back decades — after a new law lifted the statute of limitations on Nevada civil cases
On May 31, Nevada passed a law called SB129 — removing the civil statute of limitations in cases of sexual abuse involving adults.
Previously, alleged victims had to file a lawsuit within two years.
This new law has allowed the nine plaintiffs to sue for the alleged abuse they faced at the hands of the entertainer decades ago.
Lise-Lotte Lublin has publicly accused Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting her. She claims in the suit, seen through NBCthat in 1989 he gave her two drinks “to relax,” then touched her hair while he masturbated.
According to the lawsuit, Lublin was allegedly dragged into a bedroom and assaulted.
Heidi Thomas claims in the lawsuit that she traveled from Denver in 1984 under the pretext that Cosby would escort her. He offered her alcohol, which she sipped, and she lost consciousness.
Janice Dickinson and Lili Bernard are two of nine plaintiffs involved in the new lawsuit against Bill Cosby
Lise-Lotte Lublin and Heidi Thomas are two of nine plaintiffs involved in the new lawsuit against Bill Cosby
The lawsuit alleges that Thomas woke up when Cosby attacked her.
Rebecca Cooper was working as a massage therapist when she met Cosby. He invited her to dinner and one of his shows, the lawsuit states.
Cosby also asked her for help with a tennis injury he had. Cooper claims he spiked her drink on the show and later raped her in his dressing room, the lawsuit alleges.
Pam Joy Abeyta went to Las Vegas in 1979 and met Cosby in his dressing room after one of his shows. She was given a drink and taken to Cosby’s suite when she began to feel dizzy, the lawsuit said.
Cosby “put a pill” in her mouth without her consent — and woke up with him naked on top of her, she alleges in the lawsuit. The bed was wet and she woke up with bruises on her legs, it claims.
Janice Baker Kinney arrived at Cosby’s house in Reno, Nevada, in 1982 for a party – but she soon realized that he had lied to her because no one else was there. She says in the lawsuit that he gave her barbiturates.
In the lawsuit, Baker Kinney describes waking in and out of consciousness with Cosby’s hand in her open blouse, groping her, as she lay naked in bed.
She was also one of the people who testified against Cosby in his 2018 criminal case.
Janice Dickinson says Cosby invited her to Lake Tahoe in 1982 to discuss job opportunities. She was suffering from menstrual cramps and Cosby offered her a pill to help, the lawsuit says.
Feeling dizzy, Dickinson went with him to Cosby’s suite — where he raped her, despite her asking him to stop, the lawsuit alleges.
Linda Kirkpatrick and Janice Baker-Kinney are two of nine plaintiffs involved in the new lawsuit against Bill Cosby
In the lawsuit, Linda Kirkpatrick claims she met Cosby in 1981 while playing tennis in Las Vegas — and he gave her a drink backstage at a show.
Kirkpatrick says she blacked out and then woke up on the floor of Cosby’s dressing room with Cosby on top of her and assaulted her, according to the lawsuit.
Lili Bernard traveled to Las Vegas with Cosby, where he promised to take her to a meeting with film producers. She claims in the lawsuit that he drugged her non-alcoholic drink and took her to his hotel suite for a “mentoring session.”
Bernard woke up naked with Cosby naked at her feet, the suit says. Cosby raped her after she told him she didn’t want to have sex. She couldn’t stop him because of the booze she had been drinking, the lawsuit alleges.
Angela Leslie was invited to Las Vegas by Cosby after he expressed a desire to mentor her acting career. They were doing an acting practice in his suite when Cosby offered her a drink, the lawsuit said.
He covered Leslie’s hand with lotion and forced it on his genitals, she alleges in the lawsuit.
Angela Leslie and Pam Joy Abeyta are two of nine plaintiffs involved in the new lawsuit against Bill Cosby
Rebecca Cooper is one of nine plaintiffs involved in the new lawsuit against Bill Cosby
This comes just two weeks after Cosby was sued in California by a former Playboy model who claims he raped her five decades ago.
Victoria Valentino, 80, filed the lawsuit Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court under a new law that lifted the statute of limitations on civil assault cases.
Cosby, 85, was previously convicted in April 2018 of drugging and sexually assaulting a basketball coach, Andrea Constand, in 2004.
He was sentenced to three to ten years in prison, but only served three years of his sentence before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the conviction. He was released on June 30, 2021.
Cosby’s spokesman Andrew Wyatt told the Washington Post after the new lawsuit, “In my opinion, these women are not victims of sexual assault, they are victims of greed.”
The new California law, which has allowed Valentino to file her lawsuit, allows sexual assault accusers to seek damages — regardless of how long ago the alleged crimes occurred.
Valentino alleged that Cosby drugged and raped her in 1969 after they ran into each other at the Café Figaro restaurant in Los Angeles on Melrose Avenue. They had previously met at an acting audition.
Valentino says she cried over her six-year-old son’s recent drowning when Cosby approached her.
Valentino was having dinner with a friend at the time. He then paid for them to go to a Finnish spa, then took the pair to a Sunset Strip steakhouse for dinner, where he gave them both pills.
He is said to have said, ‘It will make you feel better. It will make ALL of us feel better.”
Cosby then drove them to an office, she alleges in the lawsuit, where she and her unnamed boyfriend passed out.
Valentino says she woke up, saw Cosby approaching her boyfriend and tried to protect her. But the lawsuit then claims that Cosby got angry and raped Valentino.
At the time of the incident, Valentino was a popular model and was known for her photo shoot with Playboy in 1963.