Sunday, January 25, 2015

New Cosby Accuser Wants LAPD to Investigate

Las Vegas dancer who says Bill Cosby drugged and did something sexual to her at the Playboy Mansion in 2008, spoke with the Los Angeles police Wednesday, seeking an investigation and possible criminal charges.
Chloe Goins, 24, and her Florida lawyer, Spencer Kuvin, spent two hours at LAPD headquarters making a statement detailing everything she remembered about her alleged encounter with Cosby in August 2008, and the police "assured her they would investigate," Kuvin said.
The LAPD was not so forthcoming: No confirmation, no denial, no comment, according to Drake Madison, one of the public information officers in the police media office.
But she was there, according to Twitter and the local ABC affiliate.
Goins alleges that she was 18 and at the Playboy Mansion where she accepted a drink from Cosby, passed out and woke up naked with Cosby licking her toes and masturbating. When she protested, he pulled up his pants and left, she says.
Was she raped? Not clear. Has the California statute of limitations run out on whatever crime might have been committed? Not clear.
Kuvin, a personal injury lawyer in the Craig Goldenfarb law office in West Palm Beach, would not elaborate, saying police asked Goins to stop talking about her Cosby allegations for now.
"Even if they decide they can't prosecute, they can use her information and use her as a witness if someone else comes forward or if they are currently investigating anyone else's (allegations)," Kuvin said. "The reason she came forward is not only that she wants to see him prosecuted, she wants to support the other women."
The other women now number more than two dozen. They allege they were drugged and some raped by Cosby in decades past. He denies the allegations and has never been charged with a crime.
The allegations have been public for a decade but reemerged in force in November, damaging Cosby's career and philanthropy, leading to lawsuits, and near daily debate in social media and regular media about whether the entertainment icon is a serial rapist.
Kuvin said Goins never reported what happened to her at the time, and only came forward after other accusers went public in recent weeks.
"When this happens to an 18 year old, she's very scared, she's nervous, she wants to forget it, she's embarrassed, and you find that frequently in sex-abuse victims," he said.
Goins is not the first Cosby accuser to file a statement with Los Angeles police. Judy Huth, who asserts she was a teen when Cosby raped her at the Playboy Mansion 40 years ago, filed a civil lawsuit against Cosby last month, and also spoke to the cops about her allegations.
An investigation was opened but prosecutors declined to file any criminal charges against Cosby, possibly because the statute of limitations had long expired. Her civil lawsuit is pending.
Who is Goins? Before being told by police to keep quiet, Goins was talking freely to the media, telling The Daily Mail she works as a lap dancer in Las Vegas. TMZ reported she's also a model and a stripper.
Kuvin refused to discuss her occupation, saying it's irrelevant.
"Even if she has an occupation some might not agree with, it's not OK to be taken advantage of," Kuvin said. "You can't attack a victim for what they do for living."
Meanwhile, the crusade against Cosby moves to Colorado, where Cosby has several performances scheduled this week.
Attorney Gloria Allred, who represents Huth and several other Cosby accusers, says she will be in Buell, Colo., on Saturday to join a protest planned for outside the theater where Cosby is performing. Before the protest, she says, she will host a "Teach In and Speak Out" with yet another Cosby accuser at a local hotel, inviting the public to learn how to "support alleged victims."