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One of Bill Cosby’s alleged rape victims has filed a civil lawsuit, alleging the comedian drugged and raped her in Atlantic City in August 1990. Lili Bernard, who guest-starred on The Cosby Show, alleges Cosby coaxed her to Atlantic City as a young actress under the guise of a “mentoring relationship” and offers to be featured on the hit NBC show. There, he gave her a non-alcohol drink that made her pass out; she woke up with a naked Cosby on top of her, she alleges. “I have waited a long time to be able to pursue my case in court, and I look forward to being heard and to hold Cosby accountable for what he did to me,” Bernard said in a statement on Thursday. “Although it occurred long ago, I still live with the fear, pain, and shame every day of my life.”
In July, Cosby, 84, was controversially freed from prison after his conviction for drugging and sexually assaulting another victim, Andrea Constand, was overturned on a technicality. Several other women testified during the trial about similar alleged assaults.