Bill Cosby Faces More Sexual Abuse Allegations As Another Trial Opens Up

The comedian, who is now 85 years old and was released from jail close to a year ago, is being accused of coercing a young woman to engage in sexual activity at the Playboy Mansion in 1975. Lawyers for Bill Cosby will deliver opening remarks in a civil trial that is one of the last outstanding legal claims against the comedian, the Associated Press reports.

The attorneys representing Judy Huth, now 64 years old, will provide an overview of the material that they want to present in support of her claim that Bill Cosby coerced her into performing a sex act at the Playboy Mansion in 1975, when she was only 16 years old.

The testimony of Huth, together with photographs and other historical artifacts that help locate the event in time, will be the most important piece of evidence in this case.

The lawyers for Bill Cosby, who maintain that their client did not engage in any kind of sexual misconduct, are expected to stress that the burden of proving the almost half-century-old case remains solely with the plaintiffs.

They have said that they think Huth was not a child at the time that the incident occurred, despite the fact that they have admitted that Cosby brought Huth to the Playboy Mansion and that a picture from the visit depicts the visit.

Cosby, who is now 85 years old, was released from jail 11 months ago when his conviction for criminal sexual assault was overturned by an appeals court in Pennsylvania.

This trial is one of the last charges that he must face. His insurer, without his consent, reached settlements in a number of further complaints claiming sexual misconduct, AP reports.

After the court concluded that Mr. Cosby was allowed to use his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, Mr. Cosby has decided not to testify. And he has no intention of traveling from his home in Pennsylvania to the little courtroom in Santa Monica where the proceeding are being held for the trial.

Glaucoma, according to supporters for Bill Cosby, has rendered him blind and made it impossible for him to travel.