A California jury has directed former comedian and actor Bill Cosby to pay $19.25 million in damages to a former waitress who accused him of drugging and sexually assaulting her more than five decades ago.

The civil case, heard in Santa Monica, centred on a 1972 incident involving Donna Motsinger, now 84. According to court documents, Motsinger said Cosby picked her up in a limousine, offered her wine and a pill she thought was aspirin, and took her to one of his shows. She claimed the substance left her incapacitated.

Motsinger recounted that she went in and out of consciousness, recalling only flashes of light. She later woke up at home partially undressed and concluded she had been drugged and sexually assaulted.

Cosby, 88, has consistently denied the allegations, as well as similar claims made by dozens of women over the years. His legal team argued that Motsinger “freely admits that she has no idea what happened.”

Jennifer Bonjean, Cosby’s lawyer, confirmed that the comedian would appeal the verdict.

Motsinger, who previously worked at the Trident Restaurant in Sausalito, a popular celebrity hotspot at the time, said she first met Cosby there. Cosby has faced accusations from over 60 women claiming he used sedatives and alcohol to assault them over a span of 40 years.

Despite numerous civil lawsuits, Cosby has never been criminally convicted. In 2018, he was imprisoned in a criminal case, but his conviction was overturned on a legal technicality in 2021.