Criminal investigation against Bill Cosby begins, Disney pulls statue
Comedian Bill Cosby had admitted in a court deposition to obtaining Quaaludes with the intention of giving them to women he wanted to have sex with. The confession has instigated the Los Angeles Police Department to initiate at least one current criminal investigation into allegations of sexual assault against Cosby, NPR reported Tuesday.
Cosby testified in 2005 that he gave the recreational sedative, developed in the 1950s as an unsuccessful treatment for malaria and illegal in the US for the last three decades, to at least one woman as well as “other people”, according to documents obtained by Associated Press.
Disney reacted on Tuesday night as the a bronze statue of the 77-year-old comedian was removed from Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios theme park. Park officials confirmed that the Cosby statue, which had been a fixture in Disney’s Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame Plaza, was in the process of being taken down, but did not comment further.
Cosby has never admitted to drugging any of the women who have accused him of doing so.
The 2005 testimony was given in a sex abuse lawsuit filed by Andrea Constant, former employee of Temple University in Philadelphia where Cosby was used for promotional advertising, fundraising and speech days.
He testified he gave her three half-pills of the anti-histamine Benadryl. The suit was settled in 2006. Cosby resigned in December as a trustee at Temple.
Cosby’s publicist David Brokaw said: “We have no plans to issue a statement.”
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art in Washington pledged to continue showing art on loan from Cosby and his wife, Camille. The museum is aware of the latest allegations but said it does not condone his behavior and its displays are about art, and not the owners of the art.
From the documents: Cosby answered questions from Constand’s attorney, Dolores Troiani.
Troiani said: “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?”
Cosby replied: “Yes.”
Train then said: “Did you ever give any of those young women the Quaaludes without their knowledge?”
Cosby’s attorney objected and told him not to respond.
Cosby has been accused by 36 women of sexual misconduct. Some allege that he drugged and raped them in incidents dating back more than 40 years. No criminal charges have ever been brought. Most of the allegations are barred by statutes of limitations.