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Autumn Jackson, also known as Autumn Williams, (born on September 20, 1974) first came to media attention in 1997 for her extortion attempt against comedian Bill Cosby. Jackson had threatened to go to the tabloids with her claim to be Cosby's illegitimate child unless Cosby paid her US$40 million. Jackson's disputed paternity claim against Cosby resurfaced in the media in 2014, as a result of sexual abuse allegations against Cosby.

Paternity

Autumn Jaquel Jackson was born to Shawn Thompson Upshaw on September 20, 1974. The paternity of Jackson has been an issue of debate, however; Jackson and her mother have claimed that comedian Bill Cosby is Jackson's father while Cosby has denied the claim. Cosby has admitted to having an extra-marital affair with Upshaw in the 1970s. During and interview with the National Enquirer in 2005, Jackson's mother alleged that Cosby drugged and raped her. The allegations received renewed attention in 2014, when women claiming to have been raped by Cosby were came forward. While in the past Jackson's mother claimed she had consensual sex with Cosby, she further claimed the last time they were together Cosby spiked her drink and raped her. Upshaw claimed that when she later found out she was pregnant, she knew Cosby was the father as he was the only man she was sexually active with during that time period. According to Jackson's mother, when Cosby was told she was pregnant, he persuaded her to put her former boyfriend Jerald Jackson's name on the birth certificate.

Jerald Jackson's name is listed as Jackson's father on her birth certificate as her father, however, another man, Jesus Vasquez, who is an ex-husband of Upshaw, has also claimed paternity. Jackson's mother claims she never had Vasquez.

Cosby set up a trust fund for Jackson, bought her a car, and paid for her college tuition. During her childhood, they talked on the phone "at least once". While she was in college at Tallahassee Community College in Florida, Jackson states they talked on the phone approximately 15 times. Cosby required that in order for Jackson's tuition to be paid, she was to maintain a B-average. When Cosby learned in April 1995 that Jackson had dropped out of college, he stopped having funds released from her education trust fund. By that time, Cosby had paid Jackson and her mother over $100,000.

Extortion

In 1997, Jackson, along with two compatriots, tried to extort $40 million USD from Cosby in exchange for not going to the press with her illegitimate daughter claim. At the time Jackson was living in Burbank, California. Jackson believed the leverage she held over Cosby was that his American good father image would be ruined if the affair and disputed paternity claims were released. Cosby's lawyer warned Jackson that what she was doing constituted an extortion attempt, but Jackson pressed on despite the warnings, including sending Cosby a $25,000 contract she had negotiated with The Globe to sell her story.

Cosby and his lawyers contacted the FBI, who eventually had Jackson come to New York and accept a fake settlement amount to gain proof of the extortion attempt. On January 20, 1997, Jackson was arrested. During the ensuing trial, Cosby was represented by attorneys Jack Schmidtt; Paul A. Engelmayer; and Lewis J. Liman, son of Arthur L. Liman. Jackson was represented by Robert Baum. On December 12, 1997, Judge Barbara S. Jones of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York found Jackson guilty of threatening to injure another person's reputation with the intent to extort money, traveling across state lines to promote extortion, and conspiring to commit extortion. She was sentenced to 26 months in federal prison.

When Jackson began her sentence at the Dublin Federal Correctional Institution in April 1998, she was six months pregnant with twin boys, who were eventually named Trevor and Trey Williams. Their father was Jackson's then-boyfriend (now husband), Antonay Williams of Perry, Florida. Antonay raised the twins while Jackson was in jail, living in Jackson's maternal grandmother's basement apartment and living on public assistance.

It has been suggested by some legal experts that if Jackson had negotiated the original terms through a lawyer rather than acting on her own, she would have been able to avoid extortion charges and reached a settlement with Cosby.

With the 2014 claims of sexual abuse against Cosby, Jackson's paternity battle with Cosby has resurfaced in the media. It has been used to depict a long history of supposed unseemly behavior from Cosby. In November 2014, former NBC employee Frank Scotti says he was responsible for providing women Cosby liked with up to $2000 per month. Scotti says one of those women was Jackson's mother Shawn Upshaw, indicating he has in his possession saved receipts for decades old money orders.

Personal life

While younger, Jackson had aspirations of attending UCLA with the intention of studying film. Before the extortion case, Jackson worked for Jose Medina and his production company, based out of Medina's hotel suite in Burbank, California. Jackson, Williams and Medina worked together to create a children's television show which they hoped to sell. As well as acting in the show, Jackson also performed administrative roles for the company. She was not paid for the work that she did, but hoped for a portion of the profit once the show was sold. All three ended up collaborating in the extortion plot.

Jackson and Williams met while both attended university at Tallahassee Community College in Tallahassee, Florida. On October 18, 1997 at Clear Lake, California, Jackson married Williams in a private ceremony. On the marriage certificate, Jackson's father is listed as "unknown".

As of 2014, Jackson works as a kitchen and bathroom designer and lives in Maryland.

References

1. ^ "Autumn Jackson Found Guilty in Bill Cosby Extortion Trial". Jet. 92 (12): 5. 11 Aug 1997. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
2. ^ Crump, David (2010). Criminal Law: Cases, Materials, and Lawyering Strategies. LexisNexis. ISBN 9780327176312. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
3. ^ "Figure in Cosby extortion case arrested on unrelated charges". UT San Diego. 5 Feb 2007. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
4. "Shawn Berkes/ Shawn Thompson Upshaw: Bill Cosby's Baby Mama". Daily Entertainment News. 16 Sep 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
5. Gorman, Ryan (26 November 2014). "Cosby mistress claims comedian drugged and raped her, fathered her daughter". AOL News. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
6. Gould, Martin. "EXCLUSIVE: The one woman who Bill Cosby admits he cheated with says 'he drugged and raped me too - and got me PREGNANT'". Daily Mail. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
7. "SHOCKING CHARGES : COSBY DRUGGED TWO WOMEN FOR SEX". National Enquirer. 1 February 2005. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
8. ^ Peyser, Andrea (18 Nov 1999). "AUTUMN BARES HER AGONY – BACK-TO-PRISON 'COSBY KID' FRETS FOR HER TWIN TOTS; EXCLUSIVE". New York Post. Retrieved 28 December 2014. Cite error: The named reference "Peyser1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
9. Kohn, George C. (2001). The New Encyclopedia of American Scandal. Infobase Publishing. p. 91. ISBN 9781438130224. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
10. "Autumn Jackson Gets 26 Months For Extortion Plot Against Bill Cosby". Jet. 93 (6). 29 Dec 1997. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
11. McLaren, Angus (2002). Sexual Blackmail: A Modern History. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674009240. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
12. Rowley, Charles K. (2004). The Encyclopedia of Public Choice, Volume 1. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 42. ISBN 9780792386070. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
13. "Autumn Jackson Cites Pregnancy In Appeal". Jet. 93 (7): 18. 12 Jan 1998. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
14. Rosen, Richard A. (2000). Settlement Agreements in Commercial Disputes: Negotiating, Drafting & Enforcement, Volume 1. Aspen Publishers Online. p. 435. ISBN 9780735514782. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
15. Warren, Lydia (24 November 2014). "'I felt like a pimp': Cosby insider 'who guarded the comedian's door after teen models were taken to his dressing room' speaks out about his shame". Daily Mail. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
16. Ebner, Mark (20 Nov 2014). "I Warned You About Bill Cosby in 2007". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
17. Cush, Andy (26 Nov 2014). "Bill Cosby Mistress and Alleged Rape Victim Believes Her Daughter Is His". Gawker. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
18. "Dr. Love: Bill Cosby's Sordid Double Life Of Affairs, Assault Claims & An Alleged Love Child Exposed In Steamy New Tell-All". Radar Online. 16 Sep 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
19. "Woman Pleads Not Guilty In Cosby Extortion Case". No. Vol. 91, No. 16. Jet. 10 Mar 1997. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |issue= has extra text (help)
20. "UNITED STATES v. JACKSON". Case Law. United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
21. Smith, Greg B. (6 Nov 1997). "AUTUMN MARRIES WITNESS". Daily News. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
22. Gould, Martin (26 Nov 2014). "EXCLUSIVE: The one woman who Bill Cosby admits he cheated with says 'he drugged and raped me too - and got me PREGNANT'". Daily Mail. Retrieved 28 December 2014.

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• Bill Cosby
• Living people
• 1974 births
• People from Burbank, California
• American extortionists