Bill Cosby admitted to buying drugs to give to women that he wanted to seduce, newly released documents reveal. Cosby's admission was from a 2005 civil lawsuit brought against him by Andrea Constand, the second woman to accuse him of sexual assault. The court documents were released Monday against Mr. Cosby's wishes.
Cosby has come under intense scrutiny in the past year as more than 30 women have come forward and accused him of sexual assault. Some of their allegations stretch back more than forty years. One of Cosby's accusers, Patti Masten, said there are up to 48 total accusers and that many have not yet come forward. The accusers have told strikingly similar stories about their encounters with the acclaimed comedian. Some of them say they didn't come forward sooner because they were afraid he would use his power and influence against them. One of the accusers, Teresa Serignese, wrote:
"Cosby was everywhere. Everyone thought he was a great family man. I knew he wasn't. I just couldn't prove it with anything but my word. There was no video camera or DNA evidence. No one else had accused him publicly yet."
Another of the accusers, Barbara Bowman, says she tried to tell others what had happened to her, but nobody listened:
"I first told my agent, who did nothing. . . A girlfriend took me to a lawyer, but he accused me of making the story up. Their dismissive responses crushed any hope I had of getting help; I was convinced no one would listen to me. That feeling of futility is what ultimately kept me from going to the police . . . Eventually, I had to move on with my life and my career."
Cosby's 10-year old courtroom admission comes as the first potentially indicting piece of evidence against him on these allegations. The specific drug that he purchased was Quaaludes, a sedative that erases memory. He admitted to purchasing Quaaludes for at least one woman whom he intended to have sex with. His admission is documented in the following excerpt:
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"When you got the Quaaludes, was it in your mind that you were going to use these Quaaludes for young women that you wanted to have sex with?" [Prosecutor Dolores] Troiani asked."Yes," Cosby replied.
"Did you ever give any of those young women the Quaaludes without their knowledge?" Troiani asked.
Cosby's attorney objected and told him not to answer the question.
Despite admitting to buying the drugs with the intent to seduce women, Cosby has not admitted to actually drugging any of his alleged victims.
Most of the accusations cannot be used as the basis for prosecution, since the statute of limitations has already passed. But Barbara Bowman still maintains that this new document is "a game-changer."
"I think we're going to be heard now," she said. "And I think this is just the beginning."
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