Alleged Cosby victim testifies before Nevada Legislature

[Lite Beer]

Alleged Cosby victim testifies before Nevada Legislature
By MICHELLE RINDELS and RILEY SNYDER

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — A woman who says Bill Cosby victimized her decades ago asked Nevada lawmakers on Friday to support a bill removing the state's statute of limitations on sexual assault — a provision that prevented her from pursuing a criminal case against the comedian.

Lise-Lotte Lublin, 48, fought through tears while telling lawmakers she passed out in the Las Vegas Hilton in 1989 after Cosby gave her two alcoholic drinks. The former model said she remembers Cosby stroking her hair, and then she woke up at home.

It was only after hearing similar allegations from other women that she concluded something happened to her while she was unconscious. She said she filed a police report on the incident in January, but was told Cosby couldn't be charged because too much time had passed. So she and her husband went to the bill's sponsor and urged her to draft the legislation.

"I want to empower victims, period," Lublin said, "regardless of what happens for me."

Cosby's publicist, David Brokaw, did not immediately respond to an email message seeking comment on Friday. More than 20 women have stepped forward in recent months to level various accusations against Cosby, ranging from unwanted advances to sexual assault and rape. Cosby has not been charged with a crime and has denied some of the allegations through his attorneys.

Las Vegas police have investigated "more than one" complaint against Cosby, but couldn't confirm if Lublin filed a police report due to department policy, said department spokeswoman Officer Laura Meltzer. None of the complaints have led to criminal charges, she said.

Nevada law dictates that sexual assault charges cannot be filed more than four years after the alleged incident. The bill would remove that restriction and bring sexual assault in line with murder and terrorism as crimes without a statute of limitations.

Democratic Assemblywoman Irene Bustamante Adams, who is sponsoring the bill, said the legislation would help sexual assault victims who often face severe emotional and social trauma and can take years to feel comfortable before filing a report with police.

Vanessa Spinazola, a lobbyist for the ACLU of Nevada, said statutes of limitations help ensure cases are reviewed before witnesses die and memories fade.

"They permit both the prosecution and the defense to try the case before evidence is stale," Spinazola said. "As more time lapses, it becomes increasingly difficult for the accused to prepare a meaningful defense."

Attorney Lisa Rasmussen said there's an unlimited statute of limitations for prosecuting a sexual assault when a police report is filed within four years of the incident.

"You also have to think about whether or not you would want to be in a position where someone is saying '35 years ago, someone did this to me,'" Rasmussen said.

The bill wouldn't apply retroactively due to constitutional concerns.

The Associated Press does not identify victims of sexual assault as a matter of policy, but Lublin went public with her allegations. Despite Lublin identifying Cosby as her attacker, committee chair Ira Hansen asked that witnesses not use names during their public testimony and refer to him as "the perpetrator."

-- (c) Associated Press 2014-03-13

[captspectre]

what a crock! these dam women go out wth cosby, they go alone to a room and then complain when he just dopes them instead of promising them the moon! why did they put themselves in that position in the first place? no sympahty here, you mess with the bull you get the "horn"! cosby is no angel but he appearently likes "white" meat and has found no problem getting some.AND waiting for twenty or thirty years? give me a break!

[gchurch259]

What he did, if he did it, was wrong. What I do not understand is why they wait so long to pursue him.

I do not believe the State has the right to pass an Ex-Post Facto law. The statue of limitations ran while she sat on her butt !

I understand there were other cases settled out of court during that time, she should have jumped on the Band Wagon then.

[razer]

Has she got any solid evidence? That is the real question. Convictions for he said - she said evidence will give the USA a Stasi state.

[rotary]

It is so strange all this comes up 30+ years after the "so called" fact. There should be some law on how long something like this can come up.

It is hard to explain why so many have twisted the truth but I really believe they have put a spin on their stories that Harry Reid would be proud of.

[Daniel Ingalls]

..........What to press charges because she thinks, (not sure) something might of happened back in 1989? What does she think is going to happen when

you go to a man's apartment and drink to alcoholic drinks? Play dominoes? this is plain stupid on a woman assumption .

[humqdpf]

In the UK we have a number of cases where various vulnerable people (including hospital patients) were victimised by so-called celebrities - the main perp was a man called Jimmy Saville.

In the cases against Saville, victims were at least able to remember what he did to them - some tried to report him but were either not believed or fobbed off. None of them, to my knowledge, were able to get a red cent out of Saville or his will as he left so little and it was probably not worth filing civil cases.

But in the Cosby allegations, it is the other way around. If this case is typical, the woman has no memory of having sex with Cosby, presumably had no aftereffects or evidence of any sexual activity (i.e. no pain, no STD, no semen stains on her underwear). And she never made a complaint.

Are we therefore going to prosecute any man (or woman) who at one time decades ago had a drink with someone and could have been alone with them for a period of time, even though there is no memory of any sexual activity? Of course, it is highly unlikely that anyone would be convicted on that basis but remember that the threshold for evidence in civil cases is much lower in the USA.

And this is what leads us to what is fundamentally at the bottom of these allegations - whether he did any of them or not, they want money. And since the media has publicised the case, we now have all sorts of characters who appear not to be very successful coming forward decades later and effectively demanding money.

I remember a situation when I was in my early 20s where a female classmate of mine had gone for a few drinks with an older gent. She got incredibly drunk, by her own account, and did not remember whether any sex had happened but there she remembered the foreplay and she had some pain "down there." She made no complaint because, in her own words, she had gone off with the guy. But this makes for a stronger case than the Cosby allegation set out above. If the incident had occurred in the USA, she would stand a good chance of making serious money out of the older chap if he were rich.

[ggt]

Poor Bill...an ugly old black man want to bugger women too...it was great fun...until someone blew the whistle...

[LuckyLew]

what a crock! these dam women go out wth cosby, they go alone to a room and then complain when he just dopes them instead of promising them the moon! why did they put themselves in that position in the first place? no sympahty here, you mess with the bull you get the "horn"! cosby is no angel but he appearently likes "white" meat and has found no problem getting some.AND waiting for twenty or thirty years? give me a break!

So you are now blaming the victim for their rapes

I bet you change your tune if one of your family gets raped

[Rancid]

I was under the impression that celebrities don't find it difficult to get overnight partners. The danger could be that an attitude of expectation arises and they refuse to hear no.

This is different to the paedophilia cases in the UK. Seems that there is a lot of institutionalised protection that goes on for these mongrels, have to wonder how high that really goes.

[Scott]

There are some types of sexual predators who want their victims unconscious or incapacitated. It's not about whether they can have a willing partner or not. It has to do with power and control and other issues.

I have no idea about Bill Cosby's guilt or innocent.

[tomloughney]

I don't understand, Guys and Girls party, they all get drunk or high. They have sex with each other. The women then claims she was raped because she was drunk and could not make a good decision. I never hear the defense that the guy was drunk and would never have <deleted> that ugly women had he been sober. Seems like a drunk guy having sex is responsible and a drunk women having sex is a victim. I remember waking up with a gal whom I did not know the next morning, in her apartment....thinking "shit where am I?"......only happened once but scared the crap out of me... I did not file rape charges against her, but if the statute of limitations are lifted I can go after her, if she is still alive......

[Linky]

what a crock! these dam women go out wth cosby, they go alone to a room and then complain when he just dopes them instead of promising them the moon! why did they put themselves in that position in the first place? no sympahty here, you mess with the bull you get the "horn"! cosby is no angel but he appearently likes "white" meat and has found no problem getting some.AND waiting for twenty or thirty years? give me a break!

So you are now blaming the victim for their rapes

I bet you change your tune if one of your family gets raped

What rape? She doesn't even know if they had sex. Bit hard to get a conviction on rape when the alleged victim doesn't even know if they had sex.

[boomerangutang]

There could be details of the incident which are not revealed in the article: pain, blood stains, semen, etc.

Another famous American black entertainer, Chuck Berry, got in trouble a few years ago when it was discovered that he had peep holes (and a crawl space) built alongside a women's bathroom at one of his buildings.

[tomloughney]

Wilt Chamberlin:In addition to his accomplishments on the court, Wilt also authored four books. None of the others created nearly the stir and controversy as his 1991 book, A View From Above. In it, Wilt claimed to have slept with 20,000 different women in his life.

AND NOT ONE OF THEM CLAIMED RAPE..........

[radiochaser]

Wilt Chamberlin:In addition to his accomplishments on the court, Wilt also authored four books. None of the others created nearly the stir and controversy as his 1991 book, A View From Above. In it, Wilt claimed to have slept with 20,000 different women in his life.

AND NOT ONE OF THEM CLAIMED RAPE..........

That would be 317.46 women a year, beginning when he was birthed!

[GentlemanJim]

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Has she got any solid evidence? That is the real question. Convictions for he said - she said evidence will give the USA a Stasi state.

Welcome to the UK Stazi stasi as that is the situation we have just had with men jailed on the 'she said he said ' routine on events 40-50 years ago. Celebrities asked "do you remember this lady who was in the audience of your show on Feb 23 1967 (example), she claims you touched her bottom or breast ". It is just complete nonsense, but in the UK people have been jailed.

[Linky]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Has she got any solid evidence? That is the real question. Convictions for he said - she said evidence will give the USA a Stasi state.

Welcome to the UK Stazi stasi as that is the situation we have just had with men jailed on the 'she said he said ' routine on events 40-50 years ago. Celebrities asked "do you remember this lady who was in the audience of your show on Feb 23 1967 (example), she claims you touched her bottom or breast ". It is just complete nonsense, but in the UK people have been jailed.

Well if the UK is anything like it is in Oz then all these so called claims that allegedly occurred many years ago have spiraled upwards when criminal compensation was legislated.

Roll up roll up, get your slice of the pie.