Rape allegations mount against Bill Cosby #1

[Steely Dan]

Do you know how much they pay? It doesn't seems like it would be too much, but I really have no idea.

I think it depends on the salaciousness of the story and who it's about. I think I've heard of some people getting thousands of dollars for stories.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

For the question why now?

From the Gawker article BBM:

"To reiterate: This was in People magazine, published nationwide in December 2006. Four women said publicly, in major media outlets, that Bill Cosby had drugged and sexually assaulted them.

[snipped]

And? Basically nobody wanted to live in a world where Bill Cosby was a sexual predator. It was too much to handle."

ETA link: http://gawker.com/who-wants-to-remember-bill-cosbys-multiple-sex-assaul-1515923178

 

[AlwaysShocked]

Looks like Cosby has been "pulling rank" throughout the years, accusing anyone who dares even ask him about the accusations of "not having integrity". Hah! But it worked quite well for him up until now.

A couple of other things. Cosby has apparently openly admitted to adultery over the years.

"In his biography, "Cosby: His Life and Times," Mark Whitaker makes mention of the legendary comedian's "roving eye" and even tells an anecdote about how he finally cut back on his womanizing by breaking up with his long-time girlfriend."
So even without the rapes, he's admittedly a man of low integrity.

Secondly, regarding Janice Dickinson, rapists don't necessarily pick their victims based on mental stability. If anything, he likely picked on controllable, vulnerable women. So Janice could just as well be one of his victims as the woman who eventually became a lawyer.

 

[wfgodot]

This started off the Cosby-is-a-rapist chatter, 11/2014 version:

Hannibal Burress’s Bill Cosby Rant (bostonmagazine.com)

The subsequent, unfortunate-for-Cosby Cosby meme generator:

The Bill Cosby #CosbyMeme Hashtag Backfired Immediately (buzzfeed.com)

Lengthy 11/19/14 New York Times overview of the topic up till now:

Comeback by Bill Cosby Unravels as Rape Claims Re-emerge (nytimes.com)

 

[IzzyBlanche]

I thought Whoopie Goldberg said it well. If you thought you had been raped, why didn't you go to the hospital?

Raped in 1985? Sees a lawyer in 1987?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/p...ations-i-have-a-lot-of-questions-9867159.html

The same Whoopi who said this about a 13-year-old being drugged and anally raped by a 43-year-old man?

"I know it wasn't rape-rape. I think it was something else, but I don't believe it was rape-rape."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/...erg-says-director-didnt-commit-rape-rape.html

 

[IzzyBlanche]

Tamara Green's response to Whoopi.

"Whoopi says, What, no rape kit? So no crime. It must be the effects or the rarified air she lives in because it's the dumbest thing I've ever heard her say. Perhaps she can't take a stand for a myriad of reasons, professional, political, maybe there's a racial component, who knows? Who cares? I do.

I care because it's a slap in the face, again, to women who want to tell the truth. I have tried to tell the truth in the media since 2005 and been pilloried for it, and I'm offended. It's fair to say, 'I wasn't there, and I don't know.' It is not fair to say, 'Well isn't doing a rape kit normal when you're raped?' Normal? What's normal about being in hand-to hand combat for your life?

We were all told that 'no one will believe you.' We were told, 'I don't believe you.' It is personally crushing to be disbelieved. To go for help and be dismissed because he's very cool and famous and you are not. It is crushing and you are a victim all over again."

Link: http://www.etonline.com/news/154120_tamara_green_op_ed/

 

[Curious Me]

Imagine being one of the women he basically scarred for life with the bad memory of being drugged and raped without their consciousness or consent. Many of them were young women, and probably didn't feel psychologically strong enough to do battle against this big star, It must've been awful to watch the world honor him and place him on a pedestal all those years.

I love Woody Allen's work, and think he's a genius creatively, but I also think he probably has some sides of him I don't respect now that I know about them. IMO, this is so much worse in that Crosby used sneaking them drugs to rape a multitude of women. Now, he doesn't want to talk about it.

The many victims all probably want to reveal his vile being to the public if nothing else. I'm sure there's some anger towards him that he raped them.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

Being a retired lawyer doesn't mean you have money. Most lawyers don't make much at all

BBM for focus. Also she is a retired defense attorney.


The average pay for an Attorney / Lawyer is $75,804 per year.
http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Attorney_/_Lawyer/Salary

Public defenders tend to make slightly more than prosecutors, according to the NALP. As of 2012, starting public defenders reported a median salary of $50,500 per year, while those with five years of experience reported salaries of $62,800 and those with between 11 and 15 years earned a median of $78,600.

The income of private defense lawyers largely depends on how many cases they take per year, and what they charge. Private defense lawyers who bill hourly typically charge hundreds of dollars per hour, while those who bill daily typically charge thousands of dollars per day. Others may charge flat rates for certain types of cases, such as misdemeanors. As of 2012, the NALP reports that the median annual income for an entry-level private lawyer was $60,000. However, some private lawyers reported starting incomes of $200,000 or more.

http://work.chron.com/average-salary-criminal-lawyers-11800.html

Latest index
The national average wage index for 2013 is 44,888.16.
http://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/AWI.html

 

[wfgodot]

Let's see....we've had the NBC, Letterman, and Queen Latifah cancellations, and the Netflix delay; have we seen this one yet?

TV Land pulls 'Cosby Show' reruns from lineup after new allegations (foxnews.com)

 

[Curious Me]

Just a reminder that being drugged and raped while you have no control of what is going on leaves you with some deep feelings. It doesn't have to be all about the money. It's personal, feeling helplessness and anger, suffering PTSD, and watching this big star get away with it. MOO, it isn't all about the money for every single one of these women coming forward.

 

[mdana]

Where are the 17??? My question is why all of a sudden. Why? after 20 -30 years???

You have never heard of Bob Packwood?

Packwood's political career began to unravel in November 1992, when a Washington Post story detailed the claims of sexual abuse and assault by ten women, chiefly former staffers and lobbyists.[32] Publication of the story was delayed until after the 1992 election, as Packwood had denied the allegations and the Post had not gathered enough of the story at the time. Packwood defeated Democrat Les AuCoin 52.1% to 46.5%.

...

As the situation developed, Packwood's diary became an issue. Wrangling over whether the diary could be subpoenaed and whether it was protected by the Fifth Amendment's protection against self-incrimination ensued. He did turn over 5000 pages to the Senate Ethics Committee but balked when a further 3200 pages were demanded by the committee. It was discovered that he had edited the diary, removing what were allegedly references to sexual encounters and the sexual abuse allegations made against him. Packwood then made what some of his colleagues interpreted as a threat to expose wrongdoing by other members of Congress. The diary allegedly detailed some of his abusive behavior toward women and, according to a press statement made by Richard Bryan, at that time serving as senator from Nevada , "raised questions about possible violations of one or more laws, including criminal laws."

...

Or Jimmy Saville?

Sir James Wilson Vincent "Jimmy" Savile, OBE, KCSG (/ˈsævɪl/, 31 October 1926 – 29 October 2011) was an English DJ, television presenter, media personality and charity fundraiser. He hosted the BBC television show Jim'll Fix It, was the first and last presenter of the long-running BBC music chart show Top of the Pops, and raised an estimated £40 million for charities.[1] At the time of his death he was widely praised for his personal qualities and as a fund-raiser.[2] After his death, hundreds of allegations of sexual abuse were made against him, leading the police to believe that Savile was a predatory sex offender,[3] and may have been one of Britain's most prolific sexual offenders.[4][5][6][7] There had been allegations during his lifetime, but they were dismissed and accusers ignored or disbelieved; Savile took legal action against some accusers.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Saville#During_his_lifetime

Or countless Priest, teacher, etc. pedophiles?

 

[IzzyBlanche]

Yes they do, and that's why I find the women who agreed to testify anonymously and aren't selling stories to be very credible. JMO

Maybe the ones talking to the tabloids are doing so because when they talked to the mainstream media, the public didn't pay much attention.

Like it or not, the tabloids get much more attention than more respectable news sources.

 

[wfgodot]

We've had a few already but here're the 11/20 articles in DM I haven't seen posted here yet:

Awkward interview footage shows Bill Cosby finally responding to sex assault
allegations as he sits next to his wife, then demands AP reporter not broadcast it

Florida woman becomes fourth in the past month to accuse Bill Cosby of drugging and raping her
while wife of Incredible Hulk star Lou Feriggno, Carla, reveals actor tried to sexually assault her

CNN's Don Lemon APOLOGIZES for asking one of Bill Cosby's rape accusers
about why she didn't bite and reminds viewers he too is a sex assault victim

 

[mdana]

As hard as it may be you have to come forward and tell the truth. I just don't see the reason to wait 30 years.

Whom are you referring to coming forward 30 years later? Many of these women came forward in the civil trial in 2005, but did not tesitify, because BC settled.

You are so quick to state you there is no proof, but you don't seem to have a strong understanding of the specifics of each allegation. There have been more than a dozen allegations of incidents from the late 1960s until the mid 2000s. Each one might be problematic individually, but together they seem troubling. For the record, I think Janice Dickinson's allegations are very questionable due to her erratic behavior, in addition to her drug and mental problems. However as for the rest of the alleged victims, the similarities of taking advantage of young women in their late teens and early 20s seems like he was a serial rapist.

IMO

 

[Truthy]

I understand that some people would be easily pressured by Bill Cosby, but I would never take a random supposedly herbal pill from Bill Cosby or anyone, no matter their reputation. That would weird me out immediately. That isn't a judgement on anyone's credibility, but I do think it is something that would be questioned if things moved forward.

I'm sure there were plenty of women who said no and high tailed it out of there. That is exactly how predators operate. People who are very wary rarely understand how more trusting people can get in these situations, forgetting everyone is not like them.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

We've had a few already but here're the 11/20 articles in DM I haven't seen posted here yet:

Awkward interview footage shows Bill Cosby finally responding to sex assault
allegations as he sits next to his wife, then demands AP reporter not broadcast it

snipped for focus

Wow. It's as if he thinks he has total protection from the AP from embarrassing questions.

Also, his wife's demeanor is disturbing to say the least. It gives a whole new layer of meaning to the phrase "grin and bear it."

ETA: It's also disturbing that he speaks in the royal "we." It would be one thing if he looked at his wife even once while using "we," but he doesn't.

 

[CHERIE.T]

I'm livid! I can't BELIEVE that someone would even say this? CNN.............:stormingmad:



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...rforming-oral-sex-comedian.html#ixzz3JXr8LCpL
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

O M GEE no he didn't!:gaah:

 

[Donjeta]

Examples of people being accused of things that they didn't do??? People being railroaded and then it turns out they are innocent???
Like Richard Jewell? I know a teacher personally that was accused and drug through the mud.. Went to trial where it turned out the girls lied and admitted to lying.

Im sorry, but just because someone says something happened does not make it so.

Rape is a he said she said crime and sadly there are enough crappy people out there that use that word as a weapon. So until I see proof, some kind of trial, or something substantial, I just don't take people's word for it. Innocent until proven guilty. IMO

Innocent until proven guilty.

Unless you're a woman saying you were raped.

Then you're guilty until proven innocent.

 

[Truthy]

Statistics regarding false accusations of rape (from Wikipedia):

"A false accusation of rape is the intentional reporting of a rape by an alleged victim when no rape has occurred. Studies have found that police typically classify between 1.5 and 8% of rape accusations as unfounded, unproven or false, however researchers say those determinations are often dubious. The "conventional scholarly wisdom," according to American law professor Michelle J. Anderson, is that two percent of rape complaints made to the police are false. The United States Justice Department agrees, saying false accusations "are estimated to occur at the low rate of two percent -- similar to the rate of false accusations for other violent crimes." However, others say eight percent or more of rape accusations are false, and as a scientific matter the answer remains unknown.[ Turvey, Brent E. (2013). Forensic Victimology: Examining Violent Crime Victims in Investigative and Legal Contexts. Academic Press. p. 265. ISBN 0124080847.]"

Even if the rate of false accusations of rape is 10%, in this instance it would allow us to statistically rule out maybe 2 of the accusations (based on 13 -17 victims). That would still statistically yield 11-15 victims who are not lying.

With specific regard to Janice Dickinson's claims, IMO not believing her based on what you know of her from seeing her on tv has as much validity as believing Cosby could not possibly be guilty of these crimes because he is a successful entertainer and pitchman.

You know that there is a big difference between unproven- and didn't happen? These are largely cases where the women knew the rapist, and they claim it was consensual. Unless she is beaten badly- it is incredibly difficult to prove. I can not stand Janice Dickinson myself but it is obvious that she is the perfect victim, a party girl who enjoyed sex, and will be vilified for speaking up. Predators know who will likely be powerless against them, same reason serial killers go after prostitutes. A certain segment of society would rather trash the woman for daring to go places and do things they are afraid to. They forget they are making excuses for the scum of the earth, only because they cannot empathize with the victims.

 

[Truthy]

I just don't buy it. I am sorry. I need proof before someone gets dragged through the mud. I am so horrified at today's media justice. Some one makes an allegation and so it must be true.. That is not justice.. That is gossip.

Why do you keep saying "one" when you know better?
It is well over a dozen women, all who stand to gain nothing from the accusations.