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A civil lawsuit against Bill Cosby is moving forward to trial after his attorneys failed to get the case dismissed on the grounds that his accuser changed the date of the alleged assault in a new, last-minute sworn statement.
A California judge permitted Judy Huth to submit a sealed deposition two weeks ago that was read in open court by Cosby's attorney Jennifer Bonjean on Tuesday (May 17). In the statement, Bonjean claimed Huth changed the date of the alleged attack by more than a year, Rolling Stone reported.
Huth previously claimed Cosby used his celebrity to lure her to the Playboy Mansion in either late 1973 or early 1974 when she was 15 years old. In the new sworn statement, Huth claims the assault took place in either February or March of 1975 when she was 16-year-old. The change was made after a photo was discovered around the time the two met, according to ABC News.
Bonjean argued that the changed timeline was an "ambush" and ought to be enough to dismiss the case altogether, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Craig D. Karlan permitted Huth to sit for another hour-long deposition this week and keep the original May 23 trial state date.
Cosby's attorneys continued to push back, claiming they only obtained visitor logs to Playboy Mansion for 1974, but Karlan said the team had time to get records for 1975 before the trial begins.
The trial is expected to last seven days with opening arguments beginning on June 1. Cosby's spokesman Andrew Wyatt says the 85-year-old does not plan to attend the trial because of his age and rising Covid-19 numbers.
Last year, Cosby's sexual assault conviction in Pennsylvania was overturned by the state's Supreme Court on a legal technicality.
Reading about Black trauma can have an impact on your mental health. If you or someone you know need immediate mental health help, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor. These additional resources are also available:
The National Sexual Assault Hotline 1-800-656-4673
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255
The National Alliance on Mental Illness 1-800-950-6264
The Association of Black Psychologists 1-301-449-3082
The Anxiety and Depression Association of America 1-240-485-1001
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