Bill Cosby declines to comment on 'decade-old, discredited' sexual abuse claims

Bill Cosby will make no comment on "decade-old, discredited" allegations of sexual abuse, his lawyer has said in a statement.

The 77-year-old US actor and comedian has recently faced claims he assaulted Barbara Bowman - previously an aspiring actress - on multiple occasions in 1985, when she was aged 17.

In an op-ed in the Washington Post, Bowman said Cosby had on one occasion drugged her at his property in New York.

She said she had never reported the allegations to police because she feared she would not be believed.

Bowman said she had prepared to testify in a lawsuit brought against Cosby by another woman, Andrea Constand, who accused Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting her.

The lawsuit was settled in 2006 for an undisclosed amount without any testimony from Bowman.

The former Cosby Show star has never been charged over any of the allegations.

In a radio interview on NPR aired yesterday, Cosby declined to answer questions on the claims.

Recently, he made headlines when he asked fans to create memes about him, only to receive a barrage of tweets relating to the abuse allegations.