Three more women have come forward to accuse comedian Bill Cosby of sexual assault.

The 77-year-old actor is well-known for starring as the affable patriarch, Dr Cliff Huxtable, in the long-running sitcom The Cosby Show (1984-1992).

Registered nurse Therese Serignese, 57, told The Huffington Post that she was drugged and raped by Cosby when she was 19. This allegedly took place after one of his shows at the Las Vegas Hilton in 1976. She is one of 13 women who were supposed to testify against him in a 2005 lawsuit which was subsequently settled out of court.

Actress Louisa Moritz, 68, said on celebrity news website TMZ that she was forced to engage in oral sex before he appeared on the Tonight Show in 1971. Moritz's credits include the award-winning film One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975).

Carla Ferrigno, wife of actor Lou Ferrigno, told Rumorfix website that he attacked and grabbed her when she was a teenager at a party in 1967.

Cosby's lawyer, Marty Singer, says to TMZ: "We've reached a point of absurdity. The stories are getting more ridiculous."

Over the past few weeks, six other women had publicly identified themselves and accused him of sexual assault, including model Janice Dickinson.