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Cosby Admitted Giving Woman Quaaludes

Bill Cosby performs during a November 2014 show at the Maxwell C. King Center for the Performing Arts in Melbourne, Fla.
Phelan M. Ebenhack
/
AP
Bill Cosby performs during a November 2014 show at the Maxwell C. King Center for the Performing Arts in Melbourne, Fla.

Updated at 7:10 p.m. ET

Comedian Bill Cosby testified in 2005 that he obtained the sedative Quaalude with the intent of giving the drug to women with whom he wanted to have sex, and he acknowledged giving it to at least one woman.

The Associated Press, which first reported the story, had gone to court to get the documents released. In the testimony, Cosby, now 77, was testifying under oath in a lawsuit filed by a former Temple University employee. He said he gave her three half-pills of Benadryl. The comedian settled that sexual abuse lawsuit in 2006. Here is that document:

More than two dozen women have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct. Some of them say he drugged and raped them. As we noted back in January, Cosby has denied all the allegations and has not been charged in any of the alleged assaults, but in an interview with NPR's Scott Simon last November Cosby maintained an uncomfortable silence when asked about the allegations.

Some of the allegations are decades old and, as such, fall outside the statute of limitations. But the scandal has hurt the comedian: NBC canceled a project with him, as did Netflix. The U.S. Navy revoked an honorary title for the comedian, and he resigned from the board of trustees at Temple University.

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Krishnadev Calamur is NPR's deputy Washington editor. In this role, he helps oversee planning of the Washington desk's news coverage. He also edits NPR's Supreme Court coverage. Previously, Calamur was an editor and staff writer at The Atlantic. This is his second stint at NPR, having previously worked on NPR's website from 2008-15. Calamur received an M.A. in journalism from the University of Missouri.