Bill Cosby accused of sexual abuse as civil trial begins in Los Angeles

Jury selection in a civil trial against Bill Cosby began in Los Angeles this week, nearly a year after the actor was freed from prison when his conviction on charges of drugging and sexually assaulting another woman were overturned.

The trial in Los Angeles concerns allegations by Judy Huth, who has accused Cosby of sexually abusing her at the Playboy mansion in 1975 when she was 16 and he was 37. She had initially alleged that Cosby assaulted her in 1974 when she was 15, but later revised that claim.

Huth first filed the lawsuit in 2014, as Cosby faced accusations from dozens of women, but the case was delayed due to a criminal trial in Pennsylvania.

In that case, a Pennsylvania jury convicted Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004. Cosby had previously agreed to pay Constand more than $3m as part of a civil settlement.

The trial is expected to last two weeks.