A jury in Santa Monica, California delivered a massive verdict against Bill Cosby on Monday, finding the 88-year-old comedian liable for the sexual assault and sexual battery of Donna Motsinger and awarding her $19.25 million. The judgment marks one of the largest civil penalties Cosby has faced and adds yet another legal blow to the legacy of the man once known as "America's Dad."

The jury awarded Motsinger $17.5 million for past mental suffering and $1.75 million for future suffering, according to the NY Times. In a critical additional finding, jurors determined that Cosby acted with "malice, oppression, or fraud," opening the door to punitive damages in a second phase of the trial.

Motsinger, now 84, alleged that Cosby befriended her while she was working as a waitress at The Trident, a popular restaurant in Sausalito, California. According to her lawsuit, Cosby invited her to a recording of his standup act at the Circle Star Theater in nearby San Carlos, where he gave her wine that made her feel sick and then offered her two round white pills she believed were aspirin. Motsinger said she lost consciousness and woke up at home with most of her clothes removed.

The nearly two-week trial, which began on March 10, featured testimony from other Cosby accusers including Andrea Constand, Victoria Valentino, and Janice Baker Kinney. Five additional women were allowed to testify about similar alleged conduct to establish a pattern.

Some of the most damaging evidence came from Cosby's own words. During a videotaped deposition played for jurors, Cosby admitted he obtained a prescription for Quaaludes during a poker game with a doctor and that he intended to give them to women he wanted to have sex with. When asked whether he knew if a woman he gave Quaaludes to was capable of consent, Cosby responded: "I didn't." Cosby did not appear in court for the trial and has maintained the encounter was consensual.

This trial follows a 2022 Santa Monica civil verdict that found Cosby liable for sexually abusing Judy Huth, who was 16 at the time, and ordered him to pay $500,000. Motsinger's case was made possible by California's "look-back" law, which revived the statute of limitations for survivors of sexual assault to pursue civil claims. Cosby's 2018 criminal conviction for the assault of Constand was overturned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 2021 and he has not faced new criminal charges.

More than 60 women have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct spanning decades. Monday's verdict sends a clear signal that civil courts remain an avenue for accountability, even when criminal prosecution is no longer on the table.