US comedian Bill Cosby admitted he obtained sedatives with the intent of giving them to women he wanted to have sex with, court papers from 2005 show, reports BBC. The unsealed files, obtained by the Associated Press news agency, show Cosby made the admission in a sex abuse civil case brought by a woman. That case was settled for an undisclosed sum in 2006.
Mr Cosby, now 77, is facing a series of sexual assault accusations dating back decades. He has denied the claims.
Mr Cosby has never been criminally charged.
Most of the claims of sexual assault are barred by statutes of limitations. They restrict the length of time in which legal actions can be taken after an alleged crime has been committed.
In his 2005 testimony, Cosby admitted that he obtained Quaaludes in the 1970s, with the intent of giving it to women he wanted to have sex with.
He said he had given the sedatives to at least one woman and ‘other people’, according to the Associated Press.
Later in the deposition, he is quoted as said, ‘I meet Ms T (whose name was redacted to preserve her anonymity) in Las Vegas. She meets me back stage. I give her Quaaludes. We then have sex.’
His lawyers said that at least two of those accusing the comedian had knowingly taken the sedative, the news agency added.
The case was brought by Andrea Constand, a former employee of Temple University – the Philadelphia college with which Mr Cosby was once closely associated.
He later testified that he gave Constand one and a half pills of the over-the-counter antihistamine drug Benadryl. AP went to court to compel the release of the documents, despite objections by Cosby’s lawyers that the papers would embarrass their client and reveal personal information.
Cosby’s representatives have yet to comment.
Best known as Dr Cliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show in 1984-92, the comedian is facing a number of allegations dating back to the 1970s.
-With New Age input
