One of Cosby's 60 accusers says mistrial is why victims 'don't come forward'

Lise-Lotte Lublin cried when she heard Bill Cosby won't be going to jail.

The middle-school teacher, 50, who came forward 25 years after she alleges Cosby drugged and seduced her, said

the announcement Saturday that Cosby's jury had deadlocked and couldn't decide sexual assault charges against him is the very reason victims like her don't report their assailants.

"This is a serial rapist and considering that two women testified and a judge testified, and the jury deadlocked – what does a victim have to say or do to be believed?

"This is why people don't come forward," she added. "For victims of rape, it is an emotional trauma and the victim is victimized over and over again because they have a relationship with that person."

Cosby has not specifically responded in detail to many of the claims from Lublin and other accusers, but he and his lawyers have insisted he has never had sex with a woman without her consent.

In an emotional phone interview from her Las Vegas home, Lublin said she reported Cosby to Nevada police in 2014, becoming one of 60 accusers who said they were sexually assaulted by Cosby. With her was lawyer Gloria Allred, who represents 33 of those women.

"If you think about it, there are 60 of us (accusing Cosby) and not one of us has any protection from the law to prosecute him for his actions," said Lublin, a mother of two children. "There are still people out there ignorant and saying they shouldn't put a blind man in jail."

No charges were brought against Cosby in Lublin's case because the state had a four-year statute of limitations in sexual-assault cases – a limitation she and her husband have since worked relentlessly to successfully change.

Lublin spoke Saturday of how Cosby groomed her and broke her trust – and how she has been able to cope by helping other victims of sexual assault.

She said she was a 23-year-old model – a 5-foot-9 inch woman of Swedish/African American descent – whose agent arranged for her to meet the comedian, an "icon" who wanted to help her with her acting skills.

One night in 1989, she said Cosby gave her two drinks in his Elvis suite at the Las Vegas Hilton. She said she lost consciousness and woke up the next day in her own home, unaware of how she got there.

Two years after the alleged assault, Lublin said she and her mother had dinner with Cosby.

"The predator creates a relationship that's difficult just to cut the ties," she said. "They groom and seduce the family, and he did.

"Everyone says, 'Why didn't you come forward?' Because that is the nature of the crime – it does not create all the evidence. You are shamed and tricked that you did something wrong. If you look at the grooming technique of a predator – that's what they do, they turn it all around that you did something wrong."

She and her husband, Benjamin Lublin, 40, worked tirelessly to get the statute changed. In March 2015, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval signed a bill that raised the criminal statute of limitations for sexual assaults from four years to 20 years.

The couple also worked for a legal change to protect children of sexual assault, a law that took effect last month. It is retroactive, meaning any adult who was a victim of child sexual assault can now take their perpetrator to court.

Lublin said if she could confront Cosby, "I want to ask him," Why did you do this to me?' she said through tears. "Why did you treat me and call me as if I were your daughter, and then drug me and do something that is really bad? I gave you my trust. I gave you a part of me as a family member, and saying you were like a father to me.

"This is horrific that people are still questioning when a rape victim comes forward, and questioning them whether they have been raped. It does not matter if it happened yesterday or 20 years ago, it still is rape."

Aside from a retrial, she said, "What I would like to happen is he owes so many people an apology, remorse, some sort of sign that he regrets what he did. I want some sign of humanity that he is unhappy with his choices.

"It's hugely disappointing and sad that the rape community and rape concept is still not understood by a lot of people." Lublin said.

"Honestly, when does the justice system support the victim who has been assaulted? You have to get blood types when assaulted, explain to a bunch of people you don't know what happened, save the same articles of clothing.
"You have to get so versed in forensic science to save everything to deal with what just happened to you because that is the only thing they will believe."