Many of us remember Bill Cosby fondly as Dr. Cliff Huxtable on the Cosby Show. Some of us older people remember him as Alexander Scott on I Spy. He was the smiling face for Jell-O and Coca-Cola for years.
It's hard to reconcile these memories with the possibility that he was someone else entirely in the lives of young women who have recently come forward with claims of sexual assault. Some of them tried to come forward in past years and were dismissed in one way or another.
Are their allegations true about Cosby being a sexual predator? Or are they false accusations about a man who is more like the good old dad he played on TV?
The stories of sexual assault are not new. They started surfacing ten years or more ago.
When comedian Hannibal Burress recently accused him onstage of being a sexual abuser, things started brewing again. When Cosby invited people to send him memes, things got ugly with memes referencing rape allegations.
Cosby has never been taken to court about the allegations of sexual misconduct. Nevertheless, more women have been coming forward with accusations.
Linda Joy Traitz said that she met Cosby in 1969 when she was a waitress in Los Angeles in a restaurant he co-owned.
She said that although she was only in her late teens he would take her for drives where he offered her drugs which she turned down. She said that he pushed her down and groped her, though she said she was not raped.
Louisa Moritz, an actress who was in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," said that Cosby tried to force her to perform oral sex while she was in a Tonight Show dressing room.
Andrea Constand was 31 in 2004 when she says that Cosby gave her medication at his home. She became dizzy, and found herself regaining consciousness with her clothes askew.
Though Cosby made no confession to wrongdoing he settled a civil suit with Constand out of court.
Joan Tarshis was 19 in 1969. She said that she was invited to Cosby's home for a drink. She recalls regaining consciousness while he was undressing her. She said this happened twice.
Cara Ferrigno was 18 years old when she met Cosby in 1967. She was a Playboy Bunny at the time and is the wife of Lou Ferrigno, who starred in "The Incredible Hulk". She said that Cosby attacked her, kissing her forcibly at his home when his wife and her date were out of the room.
Tamara Green was a lawyer in her 20s in 1970. She had the flu and Cosby offered her some capsules. She said that he groped her and removed her clothes. She said that he left her $200 on her table.
Janice Dickinson was a supermodel in her late 20s when she knew Cosby. She said he gave her wine and a pill when she complained of cramps. She remembered him dropping his robe and climbing on her, and feeling pain.
Beth Ferrier said Cosby was her mentor in the 1980s. He gave her a drugged drink. She said she woke up in her car with her clothes awry.
Barbara Bowman was 17 in 1985. She said that Cosby gave her acting lessons and flew her to events. When she was 18 she said he assaulted her several times. He would lose his temper, she said, and berate her when she asked him to stop.
Therese Serignese is a registered nurse who is one of 13 Jane Does who were witnesses in Constand's 2005 civil suit.
Serignese said she met Cosby at the Las Vegas Hilton in 1976 at age 19. He was headliner for a show. She said that after the show he gave her pills and raped her in a bathroom.
And the accusations keep coming. So far 15 women have accused Cosby of sexual assault. Cosby's lawyers deny all allegations, except for those from Constand.
Are the allegations true? We can't determine that here. But we know that reading what's in the news recently can have a profound effect on women who have been sexually intimidated, abused, attacked.
For some, it may reawaken memories they have tried to quell and put behind them. For others, it may bring a sense of reassurance, that they are not alone, that even if people may not believe their stories, that doesn't change what ever the truth is.
For some it may galvanize them to speak up and tell about what's happened to them. It may give them resolve to tell someone.
What should a woman who has been sexually abused do? She should not keep silent. She should choose someone she feels she can trust and talk about what has been done to her.
That might be a trusted friend, boyfriend, sibling or parent. It might be a confidential phone support line.
She can decide for herself, through the help of confidantes if she chooses, whether or not to go to the police, whether or not to press charges.
EmpowHER's support line resource provides contact information for many such support lines.
For Sexual Assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) for confidential, free services 24 hours a day, for help from a nationwide partnership of more than 1100 rape treatment hotlines to victims of sexual assault.
Sources:
Bill Cosby facing litany of allegations
http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/20/showbiz/bill-cosby-allegations-repercussions
Two new Cosby accusers emerge, including former Playboy bunny Carla Ferrigno
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/11/21/two-new-cos...
Everything you need to know about the Bill Cosby sexual assault allegations
http://www.vox.com/2014/11/18/7236263/bill-cosby-rape-allegations
Support Lines You Can Call in Times of Need
https://www.empowher.com/wellness/content/support-lines-you-can-call-tim...
Visit Jody's website at http://www.ncubator.ca