The civil lawsuit filed at U.S. District Court in
California's Central District, charges Cosby with "childhood
sexual abuse," demanding a jury trial and damages exceeding
$75,000.
Chloe Goins joins more than 50 women who have come forward
publicly over the past year with allegations against the now
78-year-old Cosby including drugging, sexual harassment, sexual
assault and rape.
In most cases, the incidents date back decades, putting them
outside the statute of limitations for legal action, but Goins'
allegations, coming within eight years of her turning 18, fall
within California's legal code.
"Today I recognize that I've taken legal action that many of the
other victims of Bill Cosby will never be able to take," Goins
told reporters outside the Los Angeles Police Department
headquarters.
"This has gone on long enough, it's time Bill Cosby was held
accountable for his crimes," she added.
Andrew Wyatt, a spokesman for Cosby, declined to comment.
Spokeswoman Sarah Ardalani of the Los Angeles County District
Attorney's office said on Tuesday that prosecutors are still
reviewing evidence for possible criminal charges against Cosby
in the same case.
Goins, now 25, told Los Angeles police in January that the
incident took place when she was 18 years old, according to a
statement at the time from her attorney Spencer Kuvin.
But the lawsuit refers to her as "the then minor Plaintiff,"
meaning the incident would have had to have taken place before
her 18th birthday, listed as May 17.
In an interview with Reuters on Tuesday, Kuvin reiterated that
Goins was a minor when the incident took place during the first
half of 2008. He also hoped to obtain documents from Hugh
Hefner's Playboy Mansion to determine the timeline of events.
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"Part of the problem you have when you have a traumatic
incident like this with a young child, is that things aren't
always clear," Kuvin said.
Cosby's lawyer Marty Singer previously dismissed Goins'
allegations, saying in a January statement that Goins was
referring to an event at the Playboy Mansion that took place on
Aug. 9, 2008 - after her 18th birthday - during which Cosby was
in New York.
Singer said they would provide "documentary evidence to
appropriate authorities" to support Cosby's claim.
"Now that Marty Singer has confirmed that Mr. Cosby has kept all
of his travel documents from 2008, that's fantastic. We want
them now," Kuvin said.
Cosby is scheduled to be deposed on Friday in another lawsuit
brought by Judy Huth, who accused the comedian of sexually
abusing her at the Playboy Mansion in 1974 when she was 15 years
old.
Gloria Allred, the attorney who represents Huth, declined to
reveal to Reuters the location of where the deposition will be
taken.
(Editing by Piya Sinha-Roy and Diane Craft)
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