Cosby Takes DNA Test in Wake of Extortion Case

Bill Cosby’s lawyer said Monday that the entertainer had given blood for a test to determine if he is the father of the woman who was convicted of trying to extort $40 million from him.

“As we speak, Mr. Cosby is having blood drawn for a DNA test,” lawyer Jack Schmitt said on the “Rivera Live” show on the CNBC cable network. Schmitt also challenged Autumn Jackson and her mother to take similar tests to determine once and for all if Cosby is the young woman’s father.

Jackson, 22, was convicted last Friday in New York of threatening to go to a tabloid newspaper with her story unless Cosby paid her $40 million. She faces up to 12 years in prison when she is sentenced later this year.

Although the comic actor admitted having an affair with Jackson’s mother and had paid for the young woman’s education, the judge in the federal extortion case ruled out any discussion of Cosby’s paternity as being irrelevant.