A Cosby accuser’s powerful message for Christine Blasey Ford

‘I knew I was telling the truth about what I remember’

Kristina Ruehli came forward in 2005 — she was one of Bill Cosby’s sexual assault victims, also known as Jane Doe No. 12. At the time, she chose to remain anonymous. A decade passed before Ruehli felt prepared to identify herself by name.

She was later elected to testify about a 50-year-old assault at Cosby’s criminal trial. Now convicted of several felony sex crimes, he will be sentenced Monday, the same day that Christine Blasey Ford was initially set to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify about the assault she alleged Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh committed against her.

Ruehli, now 75, was also scheduled for court Monday as one of several Cosby accusers delivering a witness statement. The thought of facing her past, much like Ford on Thursday, does not ruffle her.

“I knew I was telling the truth about what I remember. Even under scrutiny, you have a sense of calm because the truth is behind you,” she told The Washington Post.

Ruehli said that Cosby assaulted her in 1965 and that she mostly moved on, though the memory occasionally resurfaced. In 2005, she anonymously spoke up after a Pennsylvania woman, Andrea Constand, sued Cosby alleging an attack reminiscent of her own, and was one of 60 women to go public nine years later.

After Ruehli’s accusations were published in Philadelphia Magazine, Cosby’s attorney slammed the women, calling their accusations “unsubstantiated, fantastical stories about things they say occurred 30, 40 or even 50 years ago.”

Ford’s critics — from President Donald Trump to several Republican senators who will participate in the hearing — have also attacked her credibility with likeminded arguments.

“I can’t imagine what Dr. Ford is going through right now. I was swimming without a life raft, but at least I had 59 other women to divert attention,” Ruehli said.

In 1965, during the era of crooners and comedians, Cosby was weeks into filming “The Hollywood Palace” and Ruehli was 22, living paycheque to paycheque as she worked in the legal department of a toptier California talent agency.

Cosby, while working on “I Spy,” strolled through the office one Thursday and invited everyone in the room to his house for an after-shoot party, Ruehli said. When she arrived that evening, the only other guest was an agency client and aspiring actress.

Ruehli says she sipped through her first bourbon and Seven, on ice. Cosby returned with a refill. “When I drank it, I thought: ‘Wow,’ and that’s the last thing I remember,” she recalled.

Ruehli says she awoke beside a nude Cosby, who was “waiting for her,” edging her head toward his groin. She quickly realized that she was about to be sick. That, she said, saved her.

“I had no idea what happened, but I was vomiting in the bathroom when realized I was naked. I remember feeling horrified and ashamed, and that I must have embarrassed myself at the party,” Ruehli said.

She collected her shoes, nylons and dress, and left. By then, Cosby was gone from the room. Ruehli showered and went to work. She never saw him again.

Ruehli said there was really nothing to report — she had not been violated other than someone undressing her and, feeling she was to blame, she moved on with her life, as did Ford.

“I have lived with that story my whole life,” Ford told The Post before her name became public. “I’ve moved on. I have done wonderful things and have a great career and a great community.”

Ruehli said the Senate has put “politics ahead of a very brave decision.”

“It was so similar — what Christine Blasey Ford and I both experienced. A good part of (Ford) is probably calm, too, because she knows she’s telling the truth.”