*Several of the more than 25 women who have publicly accused Bill Cosby of raping or assaulting them over the past 40 years say they feel vindicated by newly released court documents in which he admitted to giving a woman Quaaludes, and that he obtained the drugs with the idea that he would give them to women with whom he wanted to have sex.
“It’s huge. I’ve worked so long and hard to tell my story and screamed my story onto deaf ears,” said accuser Barbara Bowman in an interview with CNN. She said Cosby assaulted her numerous times beginning in the late 1980s.
Joan Tarshis, who said Cosby raped her when she was 19, said she “never thought this day would happen.”
“First of all, I kept it a secret because I was afraid to talk about it, because of Mr. Cosby’s power. Then, when we came out, and lots of other women started to come out, we were called liars,” she said. “I’m just so relieved that the truth has come out.”
Victoria Valentino, who said she was sexually assaulted by Cosby, told CNN that other celebrities can see a warning from the revelation.
“I think the message has to be that fame and wealth and power cannot exempt you from justice,” she said Tuesday. “You cannot exempt anyone from the law.”
Lawyers for women pursuing criminal and civil cases against Cosby say his admission could bolster their claims.
The unsealed court documents show that Cosby says he gave a 19-year-old woman Quaaludes before they had sex in the 1970s. She is one of three women now suing him for defamation.
The defamation suit accuses Cosby of branding them liars when his representatives denied their accusations of being drugged and sexually assaulted.
Meanwhile, lawyer Gloria Allred is pressing to have criminal charges filed in California. Her client says Cosby sexually abused her at the Playboy Mansion when she was 15.
Below, CNN has edited together interview snippets from various Cosby accusers to point out the similarities in their accounts:
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