In the latest legal development surrounding Bill Cosby, nine women have filed a lawsuit against the disgraced comedian, alleging that he used his "enormous power, fame, and prestige"
to target them for sexual assaults. The women claim that Cosby drugged and assaulted them in Nevada residences, dressing rooms, and hotels between 1979 and 1992.
This lawsuit comes as Nevada recently eliminated the time limit for filing such claims, allowing victims to pursue justice regardless of when the incidents occurred.
A spokesperson for Bill Cosby dismissed the allegations, attributing them to the plaintiffs' "addiction to massive amounts of media attention and greed."
This lawsuit adds to the growing number of civil and criminal cases against the 85-year-old former star, who reached the pinnacle of fame in the 1980s and 1990s with his sitcom, The Cosby Show.
In 2018, Cosby was convicted and imprisoned for drugging and molesting a woman. However, his conviction was overturned on a technicality in 2021.
Last June, a civil trial jury found Cosby guilty of sexually assaulting a teenager at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles in 1975. The jury awarded the victim $500,000 (£407,000) in damages.
Just this month, former Playboy model Victoria Valentino also filed a lawsuit, accusing Cosby of raping her in 1969 after a dinner together. In total, more than 60 women have come forward with allegations against him.
Several of the plaintiffs in the latest lawsuit have previously made public accusations against Cosby. Among them are Lili Bernard, a former guest star on The Cosby Show, and model and personality Janice Dickinson, both of whom assert that Cosby drugged and raped them.
Nevada's removal of the statute of limitations for sexual abuse cases involving adults allows accusers to file civil cases without the previous two-year time constraint.
Cosby's spokesperson, Andrew Wyatt, criticized such "lookback laws." He stated, "From this day forward, we will not continue to allow these women to parade various accounts of an alleged allegation against Mr. Cosby any more without vetting them in the court of public opinion and inside of the courtroom." Photo by he World Affairs Council of Philadelphia, Wikimedia commons.