Why the New Case Against Bill Cosby Is Different

Why the New Case Against Bill Cosby Is Different 
Eliza Gray  July 23, 2015

He may be forced to testify about the molestation of a 15-year-old girl

After facing years of sexual abuse accusations from dozens of women, comedian Bill Cosby may be forced to give a deposition under oath next month in a case that will put him under unprecedented scrutiny, in which he is alleged to have molested a 15-year-old girl.

Cosby’s lawyer tried to get the case dismissed on procedural grounds, but on Wednesday the California Supreme Court declined to hear the petition, paving the way for the case to go forward, if Cosby’s lawyers aren’t able to stop it.

Gloria Allred, the attorney representing the alleged molestation victim, who is now in her 50s, told TIME her team plans to ask Cosby not just about the specifics of the case but also about the similar claims made by dozens of other women, who have detailed encounters in which Cosby plied them with drugs or alcohol and then assaulted them. She hopes to depose Cosby in August and will seek permission to videotape the proceeding.

“We have wide latitude in the deposition to ask any question of Mr. Cosby that is relevant or will lead to discovery,” Allred told TIME. “I believe it is relevant to inquire about accusations of other accusers, in order to establish pattern and practice, as well as a motive.”

Cosby’s representatives did not respond to requests for comment.

The details of the case

Judy Huth was 15 when she and a 16-year-old friend met Cosby in 1974 at a Los Angeles park where he was filming a movie, according to a December 2014 court filing. The girls both told Cosby how old they were, the filing says.

Cosby invited Huth and her friend to his tennis club the following Saturday. They met him there and the trio played billiards. Cosby also gave them alcohol, playing a game with Huth that involved her drinking a beer every time he won a game of billiards. Afterwards, he took the girls to the Playboy Mansion, where Huth said he invited her to sit beside him in a bedroom suite and molested her, according to the filing....
http://time.com/3970055/bill-cosby-judy-huth-deposition/