By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) — Bill Cosby will again be facing sex abuse allegations Wednesday as attorneys give opening statements in a civil trial that’s one of the last remaining legal claims against the comedian.
FILE – This June 30, 2021, file photo shows Bill Cosby gesturing outside his home in Elkins Park, Pa., after being released from prison. The Supreme Court said Monday, March, 7, 2022, it will not take up the sexual assault case against Cosby, leaving in place a decision by Pennsylvania’s highest court to throw out his conviction and set him free from prison. The high court declined prosecutors’ request to hear the case and reinstate Cosby’s conviction. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court last year threw out Cosby’s conviction, saying the prosecutor who brought the case was bound by his predecessor’s agreement not to charge Cosby. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Lawyers for 64-year-old Judy Huth will outline the evidence they plan to present that Cosby forced her to perform a sex act at the Playboy Mansion in 1975 when she was 16 years old. The case will hinge on the testimony of Huth, bolstered by photos and other archival exhibits to place the incident in time.
READ MORE: EXPLAINER: BILL COSBY’S SEXUAL ASSAULT TRIAL
Cosby’s attorneys, who say no sexual abuse happened, are likely to emphasize that the burden of proving the nearly 50-year-old case lies entirely with the plaintiffs. They have acknowledged that Cosby took Huth to the Playboy Mansion, as a photo from the visit shows, but say they believe she was not a minor when it happened.
The trial is one of the last cases Cosby, 85, faces after a Pennsylvania appeals court threw out his criminal sexual assault conviction and freed him from prison 11 months ago. Several other lawsuits alleging sexual misconduct were settled by his insurer against his will.
Cosby will not testify after the judge ruled that he could assert his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. And he has no plans to leave his Pennsylvania home to attend the trial, which is taking place at a small courthouse in Santa Monica. Cosby’s representatives say glaucoma has left him blind and made travel too difficult.
The Associated Press does not normally name people who say they have been sexually abused, unless they come forward publicly, as Huth has.
