Bill Cosby accused of drugging and raping Playboy model in new suit

Los Angeles, California - Bill Cosby is facing another sexual assault lawsuit filed by former Playboy model Victoria Valentino, who alleges that the disgraced comedian drugged and raped her in 1969.

Bill Cosby is facing another sexual assault lawsuit filed by former Playboy model Victoria Valentino, who alleges that he drugged and raped her in 1969.
Bill Cosby is facing another sexual assault lawsuit filed by former Playboy model Victoria Valentino, who alleges that he drugged and raped her in 1969.  © Collage: Michael Abbott & Mark Makela / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP &

Valentino, 80, filed the case in Los Angeles County Superior court Thursday in accordance with a new law that temporarily lifted the statute of limitations on civil cases related to sexual assault. The law, which expires at the end of this year, allows people alleging they were assaulted as adults to file civil lawsuits no matter when they happened.

"The trauma he inflicted upon me affects not only me, but my children and grandchildren," Valentino said. "By breaking my silence and speaking my truth, I hope this serves as my legacy to my family, and shows those survivors who have yet to find their voices, that hope and healing are possible."

She is suing Cosby for sexual assault and sexual battery. The suit also targets up to 20 unnamed defendants, including agents and other employees who she alleges enabled Cosby.

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Andrew Wyatt, Cosby's spokesman, discounted Valentino's allegations in a statement, saying that she "has skirted from town to town promoting her alleged allegations against Mr. Cosby to anyone that would give her platform, without any proof of facts."

Cosby accuser describes horrific ordeal

At least 60 women have accused Cosby of sexual assault, harassment, or rape
At least 60 women have accused Cosby of sexual assault, harassment, or rape  © POOL / AFP

In her lawsuit, Valentino alleges that she first met Cosby at an audition in 1969. After meeting him, Valentino told the comedian of her 6-year-old son, who had recently died in a drowning.

Cosby and Valentino, the suit said, met again by chance at a Los Angeles cafe. Valentino was out to dinner with a friend, who is not named in the lawsuit, and was still mourning her son's death. Cosby, the suit said, conversed with Valentino's friend, while Valentino herself "continued to sob over the tragic loss of her only son."

The comedian then allegedly offered to pay for a treatment at a nearby Finnish spa for Valentino and her friend, and a chauffeur later took the pair to a Los Angeles steakhouse for dinner. Cosby was there, and allegedly offered the women pills during the meal.

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"Here! Take this! It will make you feel better. It will make us ALL feel better," Cosby said, according to the suit.

The lawsuit claims that Cosby deceived the women by pretending to take one of the pills himself giving Valentino and her friend the impression "that the pill was safe to ingest." Valentino took a pill, and Cosby later allegedly put another one in her mouth and her friend's mouth.

Valentino began to feel nauseated and "struggled to keep her head up and stay awake."

Victoria Valentino wants to hold Cosby accountable

Cosby was previously convicted of sexually assaulting former Temple University basketball coach Andrea Constand in 2004 in a Montgomery County court in 2018.
Cosby was previously convicted of sexually assaulting former Temple University basketball coach Andrea Constand in 2004 in a Montgomery County court in 2018.  © Brendan Smialowski / AFP

Cosby allegedly offered to drive the women home, but began driving them "in the opposite direction." They eventually arrived at an office, where he offered to "show them his awards," according to the lawsuit.

After entering the office, Valentino and her friend passed out on a couch. Valentino awoke to see Cosby allegedly staring at her friend "with a predatory intensity" and said he had an erection.

She attempted to get his attention because, the lawsuit says, she "knew Cosby was about to assault her friend." He allegedly became angry at Valentino's "efforts to thwart his assault" on the woman, and approached her instead.

Cosby then allegedly raped Valentino, and forced her to perform oral sex on him. After, the suit said, Cosby told Valentino and her friend to "call a cab," and left.

"For decades, Mr. Cosby played the roles of both Jekyll and Hyde – Jekyll as a gentleman and Hyde as a predator masquerading as a gentleman in plain sight," Valentino's attorney, Jeff Anderson, said. "He has left an immeasurable trail of pain, trauma and suffering in his wake, but today we are holding him accountable for his actions."

Cosby was previously convicted of sexually assaulting former Temple University basketball coach Andrea Constand in 2004 in a Montgomery County court in 2018. The 85-year-old was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison in that case, but was released after nearly three years when the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 2021.

At least 60 women have accused the entertainer of sexual assault, harassment, or rape. Most recently, last year, Cosby was found liable in a civil case in Santa Monica, California, in which a jury found he sexually assaulted Judy Huth when she was a minor in the mid-70s.

Cover photo: Collage: Michael Abbott & Mark Makela / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP &

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