By Tim Kenneally and Pamela Chelin, TheWrap.com December 3, 2014 @ 1:59 pm
Gloria Allred makes a proposition to “The Cosby Show” star: Either give his alleged victims their day in court, or put $100 million in a fund
The scandal surrounding Bill Cosby widened on Wednesday, as attorney Gloria Allred held a press conference with three women who claim that they were sexually assaulted by the besieged actor-comedian.
Allred was joined at the conference by the alleged victims — Beth Ferrier, who was the Jane Doe #5 in an earlier lawsuit filed against Cosby; a second victim identified as Helen Hayes; and a third, identified only as Chelan — who detailed the alleged abuse that Cosby subjected them to.
During the conference, held at Allred’s law office in Los Angeles, the attorney also offered two proposals for the former “Cosby Show” star: Either waive the statute of limitations and give the alleged victims their day in court, or place $100 million in a fund, and allow a panel of arbiters to determine if the alleged victims were entitled to any of the money.
“Bill Cosby could agree to waive the statute. Then Bill and the accusers would have opportunity to go before a judge and jury and everybody wins,” Allred said during the conference.
“If Mr. Cosby doesn’t want to waive the statute of limitations because he is not willing to subject himself to scrutiny in a court of law, he should agree to place $100 million into a fund and anyone who claims she was a victim could appear before a panel of retired judges who serve as arbitrators, who would determine compensation if the claim is found to have merit,” Allred added.
In a statement, Ferrier claimed that she engaged in an extramarital affair with Cosby when she was a model in the mid ’80s. After breaking things off, she claimed, she attended a club appearance by Cosby, who served her a cappuccino backstage.
“After I drank it, I felt dizzy and lost consciousness,” Ferrier’s statement read. “The next thing I knew, hours had passed, and I woke up in the back of my car alone. My clothes were a mess; my bra was undone.”
Hayes, meanwhile, claimed that she encountered Cosby in the summer of 1973 while attending a tennis tournament in Pebble Beach, California. She said that Cosby followed her party around all day, “even though we had changed restaurants several times to avoid him.”
Eventually, Hayes claimed, Cosby “approached me from behind and reached over my shoulder and grabbed my right breast.”
Hayes added, “His behavior was like that of a predator.”
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Bill Cosby Scandal Widens as Three Alleged Victims Come Forward