Bill Cosby is facing a new sexual assault lawsuit — Victoria Valentino, who alleges that she met Cosby briefly in 1969, has accused the disgraced comedian of drugging and raping her.
Valentino filed the lawsuit Thursday in a Los Angeles County Superior Court under the one-year window allowing alleged victims of sexual assaults to pursue civil action against their attacker. It follows lawsuits filed late last year by six Cosby accusers under a similar law in New York — commonly referred to as a "lookback" provision — that set a one-year window ignoring the statute of limitations that expired at the end of 2022.
The lawsuit — which is the first legal action against Cosby in the state of California — alleges that, upon meeting Cosby at a Los Angeles restaurant in 1969, the comedian gave Valentino (who was in a state of visible grief, as her six-year-old son had recently died by drowning) a pill to "make you feel better."
According to the lawsuit, Cosby paid for Valentino and a friend to go to a spa treatment before inviting the two women to dinner at a steakhouse, where he offered them the pills. Cosby then allegedly drove the women to his office, where they both passed out. Valentino claims she awoke to Cosby approaching her friend, and after she attempted to stop him, Cosby instead raped Valentino.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Valentino said that E. Jean Carroll's recent legal victory over Donald Trump helped inspire her to pursue a lawsuit against Cosby.
"Her winning her case was affirmation we were doing the right thing," the 80-year-old Valentino said. "It's not about money, it's about accountability. Rape steals something from you that cannot be repaired or restored."
In a statement to Rolling Stone, Cosby's lawyer Andrew Wyatt said, "Victoria Valentino has skirted from town to town promoting her alleged allegations against Mr. Cosby to anyone that would give her platform, without any proof or facts. It's unfortunate that media has not vetted the inconsistencies in her many statements."
Cosby's sexual assault conviction was overturned by Pennsylvania's Supreme Court in 2021. He had served more than two years of his sentence, which was between three and 10 years behind bars.
Valentino filed the lawsuit Thursday in a Los Angeles County Superior Court under the one-year window allowing alleged victims of sexual assaults to pursue civil action against their attacker. It follows lawsuits filed late last year by six Cosby accusers under a similar law in New York — commonly referred to as a "lookback" provision — that set a one-year window ignoring the statute of limitations that expired at the end of 2022.
The lawsuit — which is the first legal action against Cosby in the state of California — alleges that, upon meeting Cosby at a Los Angeles restaurant in 1969, the comedian gave Valentino (who was in a state of visible grief, as her six-year-old son had recently died by drowning) a pill to "make you feel better."
According to the lawsuit, Cosby paid for Valentino and a friend to go to a spa treatment before inviting the two women to dinner at a steakhouse, where he offered them the pills. Cosby then allegedly drove the women to his office, where they both passed out. Valentino claims she awoke to Cosby approaching her friend, and after she attempted to stop him, Cosby instead raped Valentino.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Valentino said that E. Jean Carroll's recent legal victory over Donald Trump helped inspire her to pursue a lawsuit against Cosby.
"Her winning her case was affirmation we were doing the right thing," the 80-year-old Valentino said. "It's not about money, it's about accountability. Rape steals something from you that cannot be repaired or restored."
In a statement to Rolling Stone, Cosby's lawyer Andrew Wyatt said, "Victoria Valentino has skirted from town to town promoting her alleged allegations against Mr. Cosby to anyone that would give her platform, without any proof or facts. It's unfortunate that media has not vetted the inconsistencies in her many statements."
Cosby's sexual assault conviction was overturned by Pennsylvania's Supreme Court in 2021. He had served more than two years of his sentence, which was between three and 10 years behind bars.