Questioning of Bill Cosby in civil sex battery case is postponed

Questioning of Bill Cosby in civil sex battery case is postponed

LOS ANGELES — Bill Cosby will not have to answer more questions under oath in a lawsuit from a woman who says the comedian forced her into a sex act at the Playboy Mansion, giving him time to resolve a separate criminal case, a judge ruled Wednesday.

A temporary delay in Cosby’s sworn testimony will protect the comedian’s rights as he faces sexual assault charges in Pennsylvania, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Craig Karlan said.

[...] his ruling will allow attorneys to conduct depositions of other potential witnesses in the California case, including Playboy founder Hugh Hefner.

The ruling comes in a sexual battery lawsuit by Riverside County resident Judy Huth, who accuses Cosby of forcing her to perform a sex act on him in a bedroom of the mansion around 1974 when she was 15.

“The court recognized the dilemma faced by a defendant who must choose between defending civil litigation by providing testimony on one hand and losing the case by asserting the constitutional right to remain silent on the other hand,” Cosby attorney Monique Pressley wrote in a statement.

Allred praised Wednesday’s ruling, saying another woman who accused Cosby of sexual abuse already has given testimony.

The attorney said she also plans to take the deposition of Renita Hill, a Pittsburgh-area woman who says Cosby molested her several times after they met on the TV show “Picture Pages” in 1983.