Cosby settles sex allegation case

Cosby was a stand-up comic before starring in The Cosby Show

US comedian Bill Cosby, 69, has settled a case brought by a woman who claimed he sexually assaulted her.

A statement released by both parties said the plaintiff and Mr Cosby "have resolved their differences". Settlement terms are to remain confidential.

The woman claimed Cosby drugged and sexually molested her at his home in Philadelphia in January 2004.

Criminal charges were never brought after prosecutors cited insufficient evidence. Cosby denied any wrongdoing.

'Allergy medication'

The woman, who now lives in Canada, sued the TV star in March 2005, claiming he gave her tablets that rendered her semi-conscious before assaulting her.

In court documents filed in May 2005, lawyers for Mr Cosby said the entertainer offered the woman one-and-a-half tablets of the allergy medication Benadryl, after she complained of having trouble sleeping.

Bill Cosby has been married for more than 40 years

Cosby denied the sex assault claims in a magazine interview last year, admitting he knew the woman but was being exploited because of his celebrity status.

"Looking back on it, I realise words and actions can be misinterpreted by another person," the TV star told the National Enquirer.

"I'm not saying that what I did was wrong, but I apologise to my loving wife," he said.

Cosby emerged as one of the first black comics to have mainstream success in the US.

He was a successful stand-up before hosting the children's show Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, and starring in The Cosby Show, one of the biggest sitcoms of the 1980s.