LOS ANGELES — Three more women came forward Wednesday to accuse Bill Cosby of sexual assault, this time with celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred in tow.
At a news conference in Los Angeles orchestrated by Allred, the women told what have become familiar stories about the comedian and entertainer. Two said Cosby established a relationship with them, lured them to a private locale, drugged them and then sexually molested them. The third said Cosby, 77, pursued her aggressively and groped her at a restaurant bar.
Among the accusers was Beth Ferrier, who has been previously identified as a friendly witness in a 2005 civil lawsuit filed by a Pennsylvania woman, Andrea Constand, against Cosby. Constand’s lawsuit, alleging sexual assault by Cosby, was settled before Ferrier and 12 other “Jane Does” could testify on Constand’s behalf.
In the news conference at Allred’s law office, Ferrier said she was an aspiring model and actress in the mid-1980s who had had a months-long affair with Cosby. A few weeks after she ended the relationship, Ferrier said, Cosby called her at her home in Denver and asked her to meet him after his stand-up show at a local club.
Cosby greeted her backstage and gave her a cappuccino, she said. She quickly felt dizzy and nauseous and then blacked out, Ferrier said. She alleged that she woke up several hours later, alone in her car, with her clothing and undergarments disheveled.
Cosby and his representatives have maintained his innocence in the face of nearly two dozen accusations of sexual assault between the mid-1960s and 2004. Most of the allegations have become public only in the past month, prompting broadcasters, club owners and colleges to sever ties with Cosby.
Allred, a self-described “feminist lawyer” and a well-known TV pundit on legal matters, proposed that Cosby waive the statute of limitations on the assault claims and face a trial, or put $100 million into a fund to compensate victims based on a review of each claim by retired judges.
“There are many people suffering out there,” said Allred, who said she has “lost count” of the number of women who have contacted her office to claim abuse by Cosby.
One of the new accusers, identified only as Chelan, said she was a 17-year-old aspiring model when she met Cosby while she was working at the Las Vegas Hilton. He invited her to his room on the promise of meeting a representative of the Ford modeling agency, she said. While there, he gave her two shots of amaretto and a “blue pill” that she said immobilized her. She said she passed out as Cosby began sexually assaulting her on a bed.
