Cosby Urged to Allow Old Assault Claims or Create a Victims’ Fund

LOS ANGELES (CN) - Backed by Gloria Allred, three women on Wednesday asked Bill Cosby to waive the statute of limitations on their decades-old allegations of sexual assault, or pay $100 million into a victims' compensation fund.

The three women spoke to the press at Allred's office. The well-known civil rights attorney said she has received 20 complaints against the 77-year old actor and comedian.

One woman, speaking to the media for the first time, said that Cosby sexually assaulted her 41 years ago after she attended a Clint Eastwood Celebrity Tennis tournament.

Another woman said she was 17 years old in 1986 when Cosby invited her to his hotel room at the Hilton in Las Vegas and assaulted her, then paid her $1,500.

Allred said the women are too late to file claims, but urged Cosby to waive the statute of limitations so the public can determine if he is "saint or a sexual predator."

"Mr. Cosby should have an opportunity to defend himself. A judge and jury should decide," Allred said. "Everyone's rights are protected and in this way the truth will emerge. It could be advantageous for Mr. Cosby to give up the statute of limitations because there is a huge cloud on his reputation and legacy."

Beth Ferrier, who joined a 2005 lawsuit against Cosby as a Jane Doe, said she had an affair with Cosby in the mid-80s.

According to Ferrier, Cosby invited her to a Denver nightclub, where he was performing.

"When I arrived backstage, Mr. Cosby greeted me and handed me a cappuccino, telling me that he had made me 'my favorite coffee," Ferrier said in a statement. "After I drank it, I felt dizzy and lost consciousness. The next thing I knew, hours had passed, and I woke up in the back of my car alone. My clothes were a mess; my bra was undone."

Ferrier says she believes that Cosby spiked her coffee with a drug. She said that when she came to, she was "confused and disorientated," and that Cosby was nowhere to be seen. She said when she confronted Cosby, he told her she had had too much to drink.

Ferrier said she was too afraid to come forward until 2005, when she joined the lawsuit filed by Andrea Constand.

"If Mr. Cosby would accept Gloria Allred's proposal, I would be able to have my day in court. I want Mr. Cosby to face justice for what he has done to me and so many other women," Ferrier said.

A woman who went by the name "Chelan" said that she was 17 when Cosby invited her to the Elvis Presley suite in the Las Vegas Hilton.

At the hotel Cosby gave her a blue pill and an Amaretto and molested her, she says.

"I could not open my eyes. I couldn't move or say anything," Chelan said.

She said she blacked out. When she came round hours later Cosby allegedly told her: "Daddy says wake up" and gave her $1,500.

Helen Hayes claimed Cosby followed her around after she met him at the celebrity tennis tournament in Pebble Beach.

"His behavior was like that of a predator," she said.

Allred said that if Cosby decides not to waive the statute of limitations he should agree to put $100 million into a fund and allow a panel of retired judges to settle the claims and determine compensation for the women.

Cosby was sued Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court by Judy Huth, 55, who claimed Cosby sexually assaulted her when she was 15 at the Playboy Mansion.

Cosby resigned this week from the board of Temple University, Philadelphia alma mater.

Stand-up shows at New York's Terrytown music hall, Washington state and Las Vegas have been canceled. Netflix and NBC have taken Cosby TV projects off their slates.

Cosby has remained silent in the face of the allegations, though he took to Twitter this week to thank his defenders, singer Jill Scott and Whoopi Goldberg.

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