Cosby under oath in abuse lawsuit

Deposition over accusation that he molested teen will be under seal until at least Dec. 22.

Attorney Gloria Allred questioned Bill Cosby under oath for seven hours Friday as part of a lawsuit that accuses the comedian of molesting a 15-year-old girl at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles in 1974.

The deposition took place at an undisclosed location in Boston and ran from 9 a.m. until about 4:30 p.m., Allred said at a news conference Saturday. Allred and her law firm are representing Judy Huth in the lawsuit against Cosby.

Huth is among 50 women who have accused Cosby of raping, molesting or abusing them during his years in the entertainment business. Cosby’s attorney has denied the allegations.

What was said in the deposition will remain under seal at least until Dec. 22, when Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Craig D. Karlan will review the testimony. The judge then will hear attorneys’ arguments over what portions of the deposition will be made public.

“We will also be seeking to take a further deposition of Mr. Cosby at a later date,” Allred said.

Huth is due to be questioned in the case Thursday.

Huth says that she and a friend were in San Marino’s Lacy Park in 1974 when they wandered over to a movie set where Cosby was working.

According to the lawsuit, he approached the teens, invited them to sit in his director’s chair and asked how old they were. Cosby later invited the girls to his Los Angeles County tennis club the following Saturday, the lawsuit said.

They met him there, the suit said, then followed him to a house, where he served them alcoholic beverages and played billiards with Huth, who was required to drink a beer every time Cosby won a game.

Later, the girls followed Cosby to the Playboy Mansion, where the comedian told Huth and her friend to say they were 19 if anyone asked their ages, according to the lawsuit.

At one point, Huth used a bathroom and emerged to find Cosby sitting on a bed, the suit said. The comedian asked the girl to sit down on the bed beside him and attempted to “put his hand down her pants,” according to the lawsuit.

He then took her hand in his and performed a sexual act on himself “without her consent,” the suit said.

Huth’s lawsuit, filed in December, is the first significant court case against Cosby since he was sued in 2005 by Andrea Constand, a Temple University employee. After being deposed in that case, Cosby settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.

Cosby’s attorneys contend that Huth once tried to sell her story to the National Enquirer and that it is “absolutely false.” They also say another lawyer for Huth tried to get up to $250,000 from Cosby.

Another woman, Chloe Goins, sued Cosby in federal court last week, claiming she was molested by the comedian at the Playboy Mansion in 2008. Her allegations were investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department and are being reviewed by prosecutors.