Woman awarded almost $60 million in sexual abuse lawsuit against Bill Cosby

LOS ANGELES (NBC, KYMA) - A California jury has awarded millions to a woman who accused Bill Cosby of sexual abuse dating back more than 50 years.

A Southern California civil jury has awarded Donna Motsinger nearly $60 million in damages after she testified that Cosby sexually abused her in 1972 while she was working as a restaurant server in Northern California.

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County, alleges Cosby followed her home, later invited her to a performance, and provided her with a drink and a pill that left her ill.

Cosby, now 88, has denied the allegations.

Motsinger and her attorneys, Jesse Creed and Spencer Lucas, spoke out following the verdict.

"I believe with all my heart this is justice for all the women and I find a lot of joy in that," Motsinger expressed.

"The award in total was $59,250. $40 million of that was punitive damages to punish Mr. Cosby's despicable and reprehensible conduct. This is another day of reckoning for Mr. Cosby for decades and decades of avoiding any accountability for his despicable conduct," Creed shared.

"His pattern and practice of despicable conduct by illegally obtaining Quaaludes from an OB-GYN buddy of his at a poker table, and getting more than seven prescription refills for those drugs and illegally drugging women and raping them. And we put on that evidence to prove his pattern and practice of deceit and drugging and rape and the jury listened to the truth and the truth shined and it prevailed in this jury verdict."

Spencer Lucas, attorney

To learn more about the verdict, click here.