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Bill Cosby (2018 at a court hearing)

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Matt Slocum / AP

Bill Cosby is facing new legal trouble – a change in the law ensures this. The former U.S. television star has been sued by nine other women over allegations of sexual violence. The civil lawsuit filed Wednesday in the state of Nevada alleges that Cosby sexually assaulted the women between 1979 and 1992 in homes, hotels and dressing rooms in Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe and Reno.

The actor, who became world-famous with the sitcom "Bill Cosby Show", used his "enormous power", fame and prestige to isolate women and commit crimes against them.

The civil lawsuit was made possible because Nevada had deleted a law on statutes of limitations. This means that alleged victims of sexual violence can go to court years or decades after the crime.

One of the plaintiffs in Nevada accuses the now 85-year-old Cosby of drugging her in a hotel room in Las Vegas in 1989. He gave her two drinks, which made her dizzy, and then asked her to sit between his legs. He stroked her hair before she lost consciousness.

Cosby spokesman Andrew Wyatt rejected the allegations of the nine women to US media. The lawsuit is motivated by "greed" and a "huge dependence on media attention" of women.

Released from prison in 2021 – for formal reasons

More than 60 women have accused Cosby of sexual abuse, but most of the cases are time-barred. In a criminal trial in the state of Pennsylvania, the former acting star was found guilty in 2018 of sexually abusing a woman in 2004. Cosby was sentenced to several years in prison. In June 2021, however, he was released from custody after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the verdict on formal grounds.

A year ago, Cosby was sentenced in a civil case by a jury in Santa Monica, California, to pay 500,000 dollars (today around 460,000 euros) in damages to a woman. He appealed against this.

The actor was celebrated in the USA for decades as "America's Dad". In his role as an amiable doctor and good-natured family man on The Bill Cosby Show, he was one of the country's most popular TV stars.

jok/AFP