Three more women have come forward to accuse Bill Cosby of sexual assault. At a press conference on Wednesday, attorney Gloria Allred, who represents the accusers, demanded Cosby set up a $100 million fund for alleged victims and allow a panel of retired judges decide if the women’s claims have merit.
Allred, a civil rights lawyer, proposed that Cosby waive the statute of limitations on the claims of sexual assault, which would allow the women to file lawsuits against him, TIME reported.
[quote text_size=”small” author=”– Gloria Allred” author_title=”Attorney for Bill Cosby accusers”]
It could be advantageous for Mr. Cosby to give up the statute of limitations because there is a huge cloud on his reputation and legacy… If Mr. Cosby believes all the women are being untruthful, then this is his opportunity to prove it.
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Allred said that she was approached by several women who claimed they were drugged or sexually assaulted by Bill Cosby. All three of the accusers say they met Cosby in the 1970s or 80s, CNN reported.
One of the women is Beth Ferrier, who supported a 2006 lawsuit filed by Andrea Constand against the comedian in 2006. Ferrier said she was an aspiring actress and model when she met Cosby through her agent in New York in the mid-1980s and started an affair. She claims that after she broke up with him, he invited her to one of his performances. While backstage, Ferrier says Cosby spiked her drink. When she woke up hours later, she was disoriented in the back of her car with her clothing in disarray.
The second alleged victim is Helen Hayes, who said she met Cosby in 1973 at Clint Eastwood’s Celebrity Tennis Tournament. She said Cosby groped her later that night.
The third alleged victim is identified only be her first name, Chelan. She says she met Cosby in Las Vegas in 1987 when she was 17 years old and working as a bell dispatcher at the Hilton. Chelan claims Cosby invited her to his suite to introduce her to someone from a modeling agency. She said he gave her a blue pill he said was an antihistamine with Amaretto. She said Cosby took her to the bedroom and sexually assaulted her, while she could not open her eyes, speak or move, People reported.
The new allegations come just a day after Judy Huth filed a lawsuit claiming sexual battery and infliction of emotional distress against the comedian. Huth claims Cosby sexually assaulted her in 1974 when she was 15.
