Bill Cosby's accusers share their stories of abuse

Описание: Three women tearfully recount accusations of sexual abuse by Bill Cosby as celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred calls on comedian to allow the cases to be filed in public courts.

Speaking alongside two other alleged victims at a press conference in Los Angeles, Beth Ferrier revealed that she had had a six-month affair with the comedian. After the relationship ended, Cosby invited her to watch him perform at a club during his visit to Denver where she was living at the time.
He greeted her backstage with a cup of cappuccino and the next thing she recalled was waking up hours later in the back of her car with her bra undone, she said.
Ms Ferrier sold her story in 2005 to the National Enquirer and was prepared to testify to support another woman who accused Cosby of drugging and raping her in Pennsylvania. The case settled before trial, and Ms Ferrier's story was spiked by the magazine in exchange for an exclusive interview with Cosby, according to court records.
Ms Ferrier's re-telling of the alleged abuse by Cosby occurred during a press conference in which two other women also recounted incidents with Cosby. Helen Hayes, from Northern California, said Cosby groped her right breast in a restaurant in 1973 in Pebble Beach. The other woman, who was only identified by her first name, said Cosby drugged and attacked her in Las Vegas when she was 17 years old.
Lawyer Gloria Allred acknowledged that most of the women who have publicly accused Cosby of sex abuse, including Ms Ferrier and Ms Hayes, have no way to sue the comedian due to statutes of limitations. However, Ms Allred proposed that Cosby waive the statutes and allow cases to be filed in public courts so that the allegations could be adjudicated.
"The public deserves to know if Mr Cosby is a saint or a sexual predator," Ms Allred said on Wednesday.
The accusations will compound the sexual assault scandal around Bill Cosby. On Tuesday he was sued by a woman alleging he molested her in 1974 at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles when she was 15.
The 77-year-old star has so far declined to respond to the claims.


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