Playboy Enterprises founder Hugh Hefner has been named in a new sexual assault lawsuit against Bill Cosby. The suit, which the New York Daily Newsreports was filed Monday by model Chloe Goins, alleges that Hefner was "complicit" in Cosby's behavior during Goins' 2008 visit to the Playboy Mansion.
Goins previously filed a federal lawsuit against stemming from claims she presented to authorities in 2015, a case she eventually dismissed. The new suit recounts the same alleged assault, with an update that cites Hefner as complicit in a "conspiracy" that enabled Cosby's behavior. Representatives for Hefner did not immediately respond to Complex's request for comment.
"Our legal team believes filing in state court to be advantageous for our client in several ways, with respect to the inclusion of Hugh Hefner as a co-defendant, and with respect to the discovery phase of litigation," Spencer Kuvin, Esq., attorney for Chloe Goins told Complex Tuesday. "In light of an internal investigation of the facts surrounding the assault by Bill Cosby against Ms. Chloe Goins, we believe that Hugh Hefner was systematically complicit in allowing these attacks to take place at the Playboy Mansion. We are going to hold him to task to answer to that allegation."
The suit accuses the comedian of sexual battery, gender violence, emotional distress, and conspiracy to commit sexual battery. According to Goins' account, Cosby spiked her drink during a party at the Playboy Mansion. Goins says she later awoke naked to find one of her toes "in [Cosby's] mouth" and a "sticky substance" on her breasts similar to saliva. Cosby's representatives did not immediately respond to Complex's request for comment.
"The wheels of justice turn slowly, and Ms. Goins understands that," Kuvin told Complex. "Her goal and our primary focus remains the same: holding Bill Cosby accountable for the sexual assaults he committed against dozens of young vulnerable women over more than three decades, and the people who conspired with him to allow these crimes to perpetuate, including Mr. Hefner."
Cosby has been accused of similar incidents of assault by more than 40 women, accusations that would eventually lead to Cosby's arrest in December. Cosby, who was charged with three felony counts of aggravated indecent assault, was freed after posting the $1 million bail.
