GOLDLAW – West Palm Beach Personal Injury Lawyers, Car Accident, Slip & Fall – Law Offices of Craig Goldenfarb

Category: Sexual Assault

sexual assault and sexual abuse, how to spot it, and what you can do about it.

  • West Palm Beach Law Firm Sues Bill Cosby, Hugh Hefner for Sexual Battery

    The embattled comedian’s legal troubles continue with a new sexual battery lawsuit filed in California state court by local law firm; lawsuit names Hugh Hefner as a co-Defendant.

    WEST PALM BEACH (5/18/16) — Personal injury lawyer Spencer Kuvin of the Law Offices of Craig Goldenfarb, P.A. has filed a civil lawsuit against Bill Cosby and accomplice Hugh Hefner in California State Court on behalf of client Chloe Goins, for a sexual assault that occurred at the Playboy Mansion in 2008.

    Spencer Kuvin and attorney Craig Goldenfarb will be hosting a local press conference on Thursday May 19th, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. at the firm’s law office to discuss the lawsuit, and why Hugh Hefner has been named as a Defendant.

    Who: Spencer Kuvin, Esq. and Craig Goldenfarb, Esq., attorneys for Chloe Goins
    What: Local press conference to discuss the sexual battery lawsuit filed against Bill Cosby and Hugh Hefner
    When: Thursday, May 19th, 2016 at 10:00 a.m.
    Where: The Law Offices of Craig Goldenfarb, P.A., 1800 S Australian Ave, Suite 400, West Palm Beach, Florida 33409
    Media Contact: Tom Copeland, Marketing Director, 561-697-4440 (cell: 561-601-5036)

    Background: The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles this past Monday, seeks damages for sexual battery, gender violence, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, and conspiracy. The complaint stems from an incident in which a young woman named Chloe Goins was sexually assaulted by Bill Cosby while visiting the Playboy Mansion in 2008. Upon arriving at the Mansion, Ms. Goins met Defendants Bill Cosby and Hugh Hefner, at which time Hefner offered Goins and her friend an alcoholic drink, which Cosby obtained.

    Shortly after ingesting the drink, Goins felt “woozy”, and was offered by Hefner to lie down in a room, to which she was escorted by Cosby. Goins then blacked out. She awoke soon after to find herself nude in a bed, with Cosby at the foot of the bed, biting and sucking on her toes. She recalls her chest feeling “wet” and “moist”, as if it had recently been licked. When Cosby discovered Goins had regained consciousness, he pulled up his pants, which had been removed, and quickly left the room.

    Attorneys for Ms. Goins are asking the Court for a jury trial, where they will be prepared to prove that not only did Bill Cosby commit this horrific sexual battery, inflicting years of trauma and emotional distress, but that Hugh Hefner, as Cosby’s close friend and proprietor of the Mansion for more than four decades, is complicit in the attack, as Hefner knew, or should have known, that Cosby had routinely sexually attacked or assaulted women at the Mansion dating as far back as the 1970’s.

    Ms. Goins was likely a minor at the time of the attack by Cosby. This is the first lawsuit in the sad saga that has led to Bill Cosby’s professional and personal demise since allegations of sexual assault and rape have surfaced from more than fifty women to name both Bill Cosby and Hugh Hefner as co-Defendants in civil litigation.

  • New Florida Law Extends Reporting Time for Sexual Battery Victims

    Rape victim Danielle Sullivan’s efforts have come to fruition with the passing of Florida’s new “43 Days Initiative Act.” This new bill, signed into law by Governor Scott and in effect as of July 1st, 2015, doubles the statute of limitations allowed for filing charges of sexual battery, commonly known as “rape”.
    Sullivan was the victim of rape, but because Florida’s previous law required the victim to report the incident to authorities within four years of the crime, her attacker walked away free from prosecution. That’s because Sullivan was a mere 43 days late in reporting this horrific crime committed against her.

    This new law extends the statute of limitations for rape from four to eight years. It also takes away any statute of limitations for victims younger than 16 years old. Prior to this extension, Florida was one of only three other states that had three or four year limitations on reporting rape and other sexual crimes to the property authorities for prosecution.

    According to a 2000 National Crime Victimization Survey, youths aged 12-17 are two to three times more likely to be sexually assaulted than adults. In fact, rape, according to the National Victim Center, is “the most underreported violent crime in America.” In a large national survey of American women, only 16% of the rapes (approximately one out of every six) had ever been reported to the police.
    Many issues can make it difficult for victims of sexual assault to report these types of crimes, even after many years have passed since the attack. Some of the issues that can effect a victim’s timely reporting include embarrassment, self-blaming and self-shaming, fear of reciprocity from an attacker, or worry that the victim will not be believed. In totality, these effects are called Rape Trauma Syndrome, an established and medically accepted mental health condition.

    I’ve personally prosecuted many of these types of crimes in civil court during my career as a personal injury lawyer. Specifically, I have represented victims of sexual battery against a number of powerful and famous men. My experience has taught me that attackers will commonly use their power and influence to scare their victims into silence, especially the younger female victims. Frequently it is only after the victim grows up and realizes how this tragedy has truly scarred her life, that she summons the courage to come forward and seek justice.
    By amending this law to extend the criminal statute of limitations, the legislature has provided the flexibility in reporting that victims of sexual battery obviously need to do their part in helping to put sexual predators behind bars, where they belong.

    The new law also amends the statute of limitations for a civil lawsuit against a sexual abuser. If the victim is over the age of 18, she has seven years to file a lawsuit. However, if the victim is a dependent of the abuser (an underage daughter, for example), she has an additional four years from the time she severs that dependent relationship, as well as four years from the discovery of injury.

    At our law firm, we continue to work on behalf of victims of sexual assault and sexual battery as a legal advocate for their rights in the criminal and civil justice systems. We guide our clients through every step of this difficult, often emotional process. Our goal is to obtain a financial recovery against the Defendant which, hopefully, helps to validate the emotional trauma a victim has endured, as well as pay for future medical and psychological treatment.
    If you or someone you know or love has been the victim of sexual assault, contact our office today to find out if we may be able to help you recover. The call is free and confidential.