Bill Cosby's Wife To Testify On Allegations Against Husband

Bill Cosby’s wife was scheduled to give a sworn deposition Monday morning connected to sexual abuse allegations against her husband following several failed attempts to block her testimony. The deposition is part of a civil lawsuit filed in Massachusetts by seven women who claim Cosby sexually assaulted them and the defamed them when they sued.

Cosby’s wife, Camille, was slated to be questioned at a Marriott in Springfield, Massachusetts, by lawyers for the women, some of more than 40 accusers who have come forward.

Her lawyers argued that the deposition was an attempt to bring more media coverage to the case and that she and her husband’s conversations were protected under Massachusetts law.

But an attorney for the seven women said that Camille Cosby could provide valuable, unprotected information in formal questioning.

“Did he sleep around? What were his relationships? Did he make payments of money to other women?” said the attorney, Joe Cammarata, in a preview of his line of questioning shared with NBC News.

Many of the allegations against Cosby fall outside of the statute of limitations, but he has been charged criminally in one case and faces at least six civil lawsuits, according to USA Today. In one suit in California, a model says Cosby drugged and raped her in a Lake Tahoe hotel room. In another case, a woman says Cosby took her to the Playboy Mansion when she was 15 and molested her.

Cosby was formally charged in Pennsylvania in connection with a 2004 alleged sexual assault, where a Temple University employee said the comedian drugged and sexually assaulted her. He could be sentenced to as many 10 years in prison if convicted.

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In the Massachusetts civil case, the seven women sued Cosby in federal court, saying he and his attorneys defamed them after the women came forward with allegations of sexual assault against the comedian.

Cosby has countersued, also for defamation.

Camille Cosby had tried multiple times to get a judge to prevent her from being questioned, arguing that her testimony would create “an unnecessary media circus and personal security threat that serves no purpose other than to harass and embarrass her,” according to the Associated Press.

Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Mark Mastroianni upheld a magistrate’s ruling that Camille Cosby was required to be deposed, but Mastroianni said she could refuse questions that would fall under the Massachusetts marital disqualification rule, which generally protects people from testifying against a spouse.

“(Camille Cosby) may possess a good deal of relevant, non-protected information which can be uncovered at a deposition,” Mastroianni said as part of his ruling, according to the AP.

A request for a delay of the deposition was rejected Friday and again Sunday night, the AP reported.

The lawsuit was filed in Springfield, an hour from where the Cosbys have a home in Shelburne Falls.