Artist Lili Bernard accuses Bill Cosby of drugging and raping her in new lawsuit
- She says she was ‘retraumatised’ by the comedian’s recent release from prison, after a court overturned a sexual-assault conviction in another case
- Bernard says Cosby assaulted her in a hotel room in 1990 after promising to mentor her on his top-ranked television show
A prominent Bill Cosby accuser filed suit Thursday against the actor over a 1990 hotel room encounter in Atlantic City, New Jersey, before the state’s two-year window to file older sexual assault claims expires.
Los Angeles artist Lili Bernard said she was prompted in part by Cosby’s recent release from prison. The 84-year-old actor and comedian has been free since June, when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned his 2018 sexual-assault conviction in another case on procedural grounds.
He had served more than two years of a potential 10-year sentence.
The 57-year-old Bernard says Cosby drugged and raped her in a hotel room after promising to mentor her on his top-ranked television show. She was 26 at the time.
New Jersey’s two-year window to file sexual assault lawsuits that would otherwise be considered too old to pursue closes next month.
“When Bill Cosby was released, it retraumatised me, it terrified me. I was really horrified for any woman or girl that would come into contact with him,” Bernard said. “The Pennsylvania Supreme Court let a predator back on the streets.”