Bill Cosby Won’t Be Charged In 1974 Molestation Claim, Prosecutors Say
Los Angeles prosecutors announced Tuesday they would not charge Bill Cosby in regards to an allegation that the comedian sexually assaulted a 15-year-old at the Playboy Mansion in 1974.
ABC 7 reports L.A. prosecutors came to the decision 10 days after Judy Huth filed a report with the LAPD against Cosby, alleging he sexually molested her 40 years ago. Prosecutors say the statute of limitations has passed in charging Cosby with a misdemeanor charge of annoying or molesting a child under the age of 18.
According to NBC News, L.A. prosecutors say had the alleged molestation of Huth occurred after Jan. 1, 1994, they would charge Bill Cosby with performing a lewd and lascivious act on a minor. This charge allows for an extension of the statute of limitations for certain sex crimes to one year from the date an alleged victim first contacts law enforcement. However, since the alleged incident occurred in 1974, the only applicable charge is annoying or molesting a child under 18. Thus, prosecutors are barred from filing criminal charges as the statute of limitations has run on the misdemeanor charge.
Judy Huth, who was 15 years old at the time of the alleged molestation, has filed a sexual battery civil suit against Cosby, claiming that in 1974, he plied her and a 16-year-old friend with drinks while the three played pool at Cosby’s tennis club. According to Huth, Cosby later took her and the friend to the Playboy Mansion. Huth alleges when she asked to use a restroom, Cosby escorted her to the bathroom, where he then forced Huth to perform a sexual act on him using her hand.
Huth’s attorney, Marc Strecker, filed documentation in L.A. Superior District Court on Friday alleging he has interviewed two witnesses who can corroborate Huth’s claims. Strecker also maintains he has viewed pictures from the 1970s that show Huth and Cosby together at the Playboy Mansion.
One of Cosby’s attorneys, Martin Singer, says Huth’s lawsuit is meritless and comes only after a failed extortion attempt. According to Singer, Huth allegedly threatened to take her story public by selling it the tabloids if Cosby did not pay her somewhere in the range of $100,000 to $250,000 to keep quiet.
Bill Cosby has yet to be charged criminally in regards to any of the claims made against him by 20 women, as most are past the statute of limitations to file criminal charges. Two women, Huth and Tamara Green, are the only two women to date who have filed civil suits against Cosby. Tamara Green filed a defamation lawsuit in Massachusetts earlier this month, alleging Cosby ruined her reputation by repeatedly denying her allegations.
[Image via Flickr]
