Bill Cosby sued for sexual battery under new New York lookback law, following similar lawsuit from 5 accusers

By Isa Kaufman-Geballe and Tavleen Tarrant, CNN

A woman who says she was sexually assaulted by sitcom star and comedian Bill Cosby is suing him for sexual battery after five other women sued him in early December, according to a lawsuit filed last Friday.

The suit, filed in New York’s Supreme Court, alleges plaintiff Stacey Pinkerton was sexually assaulted by Cosby in 1986 when she was 21 years old.

According to the lawsuit, Cosby used his power and influence to “groom and sexually assault” Pinkerton, who was pursuing a career in modeling and working as a flight attendant at the time. The complaint alleges that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her when they had dinner under pretenses about advancing her career in the media industry.

In another instance months later, Cosby invited Pinkerton to a show at the Chicago Theatre and forcefully kissed and touched her without consent, the suit says.

Cosby “engaged in the same or similar pattern of conduct” with his other victims, the suit alleges, by expressing interest in advancing their careers as a means to drug and sexually assault them.

“The Cosby Show” star was sentenced to 3 to 10 years in prison in 2018 for charges involving drugging and sexually assaulting another woman, but was released in 2021 after Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court overturned his sexual assault conviction.

Pinkerton is also suing NBC, Kaufman Astoria Studios, and Carsey-Werner Company — the companies that managed the Cosby Show — for negligence and negligent hiring, supervision and retention.

NBC, Carsey-Werner and Kaufman Astoria did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Pinkerton has accused Cosby of sexual assault publicly in the past, but her lawsuit comes after a New York law was passed that gives adult survivors of sexual assault one year to file lawsuits against their perpetrators even if the statute of limitations on their claims has expired.

Five women filed a lawsuit against Cosby earlier in December under the New York Adult Survivors Act.

“She has brought this lawsuit to hold him accountable and stand up for herself and others, and the law in New York now allows her and other adults to bring this action against the offenders and those that allowed it to happen,” Pinkerton’s lawyer, Jeff Anderson, said in a phone call with CNN.

In a statement to CNN, the press representative for Cosby denied all accusations in the lawsuit.

“We believe that the courts, as well as the court of public opinion, will follow the rules of law and relieve Mr. Cosby of these alleged accusations. Mr. Cosby continues to vehemently deny all allegations waged against him and looks forward to defending himself in court,” Andrew Wyatt wrote.

Cosby’s lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, told CNN on the phone that New York’s new law is “going down a dangerous path.”

“We’re not totally surprised that when the New York state legislature decided to abolish the statute of limitations, it was going to lead to a number of stale allegations that are being revived,” Bonjean told CNN. “Our position is that the statute is unconstitutional, because it revives claims that have been barred by the statute of limitation for a long time, and that it sets a very dangerous precedent, legally speaking, and not just in the context of old assaults.”

The-CNN-Wire
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