A civil rape trial more than five decades in the making is now underway in Santa Monica, California, and the man at the center of it is nowhere to be found. Bill Cosby, once among the most beloved figures in American entertainment, will not appear in court as his accuser seeks justice for an alleged assault she says occurred in 1972. According to legal filings connected to the case, his absence is a deliberate choice rooted in indifference rather than circumstance.
Donna Motsinger, now 84 years old, filed the lawsuit against Cosby and has pursued it with a resolve that has impressed even seasoned legal observers. She alleges that Cosby drugged and assaulted her while she was working as a server at a restaurant in Sausalito, California. She says she had consumed very little alcohol that evening, accepted pills from Cosby, and later regained consciousness partially clothed with no memory of what had transpired in the intervening hours.
A deposition that does the heavy lifting
Because Cosby will not testify in person, the trial hinges significantly on a recorded deposition he gave under oath in November 2025. In that testimony, Cosby acknowledged obtaining a recreational prescription for Quaaludes and refilling it seven times. He also stated that he never consumed the pills himself. The implication of who they were intended for has become the legal and moral center of this case.
He reportedly obtained the prescription from a physician who was a personal acquaintance, during a gathering at Cosby’s Los Angeles home sometime before 1972. That physician later had his California medical license revoked in 1979.
The testimony mirrors the contents of a 2005 deposition that became public years later and helped trigger a wave of civil lawsuits and renewed criminal scrutiny against Cosby. In that earlier deposition, he had similarly described obtaining the drug with the intention of giving it to women before sexual encounters.
Cosby’s team pushes back
Cosby’s representatives have disputed the framing of his deposition, arguing that selective excerpts have been taken out of context and that he has never admitted to incapacitating anyone against their will. They have also pointed to the cultural moment in which Quaaludes existed, noting the drug’s widespread recreational use during the 1970s, and have suggested the jury must weigh Motsinger’s account on its own merits.
Cosby has denied assaulting Motsinger and is simultaneously pursuing a motion to have her lawsuit dismissed entirely.
Constand in the courtroom
Among those expected to attend the trial in support of Motsinger is Andrea Constand, whose own legal battle with Cosby resulted in a 2018 criminal conviction that was later overturned on procedural grounds in 2021. Constand has described Motsinger’s willingness to pursue this case at her age as an act of extraordinary courage, and plans to be present for at least part of the proceedings.
A pattern that spans decades
Motsinger’s case does not exist in isolation. Nearly 30 women have filed sexual assault lawsuits against Cosby across three states under lookback window legislation, the majority of which have survived early dismissal attempts and appear headed toward trial. More than 60 women have publicly accused him of sexual misconduct over the years, many describing strikingly similar experiences involving drugs and a loss of consciousness.
Jury selection began Monday and the trial is now in motion. Cosby’s deposition will be played for the jury, meaning his own words, spoken under oath, will be among the most powerful voices in a courtroom he chose not to enter.
