Bill Cosby admits giving women sedatives for ‘sex’ – court documents
Comedian Bill Cosby said in a court testimony he obtained sedatives with the intent of giving them to women he wanted to have sex with. He admitted giving the drug to at least one woman.
Cosby’s testimony comes from court documents obtained by the Associated Press on Monday, which themselves stem from a 2005 sexual abuse lawsuit filed by Andrea Constand. Constand was a former employee of Temple University, where Cosby, now 77, was on the board of Trustees until he resigned.
The AP had gone to court to compel the release of a deposition in the case.
Cosby’s lawyers had objected to the release of the material, arguing it would embarrass him. But the Pennsylvania court judge unsealed a small portion of the deposition.
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“The stark contrast between Bill Cosby, the public moralist and Bill Cosby, the subject of serious allegations concerning improper (and perhaps criminal) conduct is a matter as to which the AP – and by extension the public – has a significant interest,” US District Judge Eduardo Robreno wrote.
In the deposition, Cosby said he obtained seven Quaalude prescriptions in the 1970s. Quaaludes are a central nervous system depressant that act as a sedative and a hypnotic by lowering blood pressure, breathing and pulse rates to cause a deep state of relaxation.
Constand’s lawyer, Dolores Troiani, asked if he kept the sedatives through the 1990s, after they were banned, but Cosby’s attorney raised objections.
“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?” Constand’s lawyer asked.
“Yes,” Cosby said, according to the document.
“Did you ever give any of these young women the Quaaludes without their knowledge?” Troiani asked. Cosby’s lawyer objected, leading Troiani to petition the federal judge to force Cosby to cooperate. Cosby later said he gave Constand three half-pills of Benadryl, although Troiani in the document voiced doubt that was the drug involved.
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The deposition comes from a case where Constand alleged in a civil complaint that Cosby drugged her and sexually assaulted her at his Pennsylvania home in 2004. The case was settled out of court in 2006 for an undisclosed sum, and the court documents were under protective order. The case, which included the testimony of 10 Jane Does, has become the backbone in recent allegations against the legendary comedian.
As of July 5, 45 women have made accusations against Cosby for sexually assaulting them. Cosby has never been criminally charged, and most of the accusations are barred by statues of limitations.
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