Three women who accused Bill Cosby of sexual assault will get to see the inside of the courtroom — but although the case might bring some sort of justice, it isn’t the kind they would ideally want.
Therese Serignese, Tamara Green and Linda Traitz are suing Cosby for slander, claiming Cosby’s representatives slandered their character after they came forward with allegations that Cosby drugged and assaulted them in separate incidents in the 1970s.
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“It hurts to be called the things that I have been called,” Serignese said during a hearing in Massachusetts. “I take pride in my word. I’m an honest person. I came forward with statements of truth. I expect Mr. Cosby to be an honest person as well.”
Cosby’s lawyers claim their statements were simply a defense when he felt his character was under attack.
Serignese was one of the 13 Jane Doe witnesses prepared to testify in the 2004 sexual assault case brought against Cosby by Temple University basketball administrator Andrea Constand. The case was eventually settled out of court, and none of the women had their stories heard as part of public record.
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Serignese claims Cosby drugged and raped her in 1976 when she was 19 years old. Green claims she was drugged and raped by Cosby in her apartment while Traitz alleges Cosby groped her on a beach after attempting to drug her.
They are just three out of dozens of women whose stories are eerily similar: That Cosby drugged or attempted to drug them and then sexually assaulted them, and intimidated them into remaining silent for years.
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During the hearing, a judge refused the women’s request to subpoena records from Constand’s lawyer. Both sides are due back in court on June 9 when a judge will consider Cosby’s request to dismiss the case.
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