Three women said during a Los Angeles news conference today they were victims of sexual abuse by Bill Cosby in the 1970s and 1980s, and their attorney called on the comedian to waive the statute of limitations on the cases in the interest of “justice and accountability.”
The women were the latest to come forward with allegations against the 77-year-old Cosby, who has been accused by at least 17 other women of sexual misconduct.
Speaking at attorney Gloria Allred’s Los Angeles office, Beth Ferrier said she had an extramarital affair with Cosby in the mid-1980s. After breaking off the relationship, Cosby contacted her and invited her to watch him perform in Colorado, she said. She said met Cosby after the show and he gave her a cappuccino, and the next thing she remembers is waking up in her car, with her clothing in disarray.
“I gathered my senses and drove to Mr. Cosby’s hotel to confront him,” Ferrier said. “ … Mr. Cosby’s explanation for what happened was that I had had too much to drink. I did not believe him. I did not consume any alcohol that night.
“I believe Mr. Cosby drugged me and sexually assaulted me that night,” she said.
Another woman, Helen Hayes, said she met Cosby while attending a celebrity tennis tournament in California in 1973. At some point, however, Cosby approached her from behind and grabbed her breast, she said.
“I was stunned and angry because he had no right to do that, and I didn’t know why he would behave that way,” she said. “His behavior was like that of a predator.”
A third woman, identified as Chelan, said she met Cosby when she was 17 and working at the Las Vegas Hilton. She said Cosby called her to his room and said he would introduce her to a modeling agent.
She said Cosby served her alcohol and rubbed her neck, and she eventually wound up on the bed.
“He laid next to me on the bed and began pinching my left nipple,” she said.
Cosby has not responded to the allegations, but his attorney, Martin Singer, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing by his client.
Allred said Cosby has been able to avoid dealing with many of the allegations because of the statute of limitations on the cases. She called on Cosby to either waive the statute of limitations so the allegations can be litigated in court, or place $100 million in a fund and allow alleged victims to appear before a panel of retired judges to weigh the merits of their claims and determine damages.
By waiving the statute of limitations, Cosby “would have an opportunity to address these allegations in a court of law, and the victims and Mr. Cosby would have an opportunity to have a judge and a jury decide who should be believed,” Allred said.
She said the public would then be able to determine if Cosby is “a saint or a sexual predator.”
But if Cosby is unwilling to have the allegations raised in court, Allred said setting up a $100 million fund placed under control of a panel of judges or arbitrators would still give victims a chance to have their cases heard.
“It is time for justice and accountability,” she said. “We challenge Mr. Cosby to end this nightmare for both him and the alleged victims by accepting either of the options I propose, and we look forward to his response.”
