Bill Cosby has been accused of sexual assault for the second time.

Barbara Bowman alleges that The Cosby Show actor sexually abused her when she was a teenager. She claims he used his position of power as a way of coercing and manipulating her as she set out to become an actress.

A spokesperson for Cosby could not be reached. Cosby has strongly denied previous accusations against him, which his attorney described as “preposterous” and “bizarre”.

“I was drugged and raped by that man,” she tells MailOnline. “He is a monster. He came at me like a monster. My hope is that others who have experienced sexual abuse will not be intimidated into silence by the famous, rich and powerful. If I can help one victim, then I've done my job.”

Bowman said that she met Cosby when she was 17 through a meeting set up by her agent. The actress claims that he served as her mentor, flying her round the US to help further her career, and encouraged her to think of him as a father figure.

“He told me over and over again, ‘Trust me like I was your father.’ He zeroed in on that like a laser beam,” she claims.

“He knew I had no father figure in my life. He knew that. yes, I was an independent girl, but he knew I was vulnerable and alone inside. He coerced and manipulated me into trusting him. He insisted I give into him 100 percent.”

Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Winner of his first Emmy for 'I Spy' is Bill Cosby being congratulated by his wife Camille held at Americana Hotel, 1966 Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby in 'I Spy', 1960s Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby in July 1973 in Perth Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor in 'California Suite', 1978 Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby and Elmo in Sesame Street, 1989 Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby poses for a picture with Florence Griffith-Joyner in June 1989 Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Comedian Bill Cosby back in 1992 Rex Features Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby A scene from a 1992 episode of 'The Cosby Show' AP Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby US Monica Seles breaks into laughter as she jokes with comedian Bill Cosby during a celebrity match in the stadium at the US Open for the Arthur Ashe AIDS Challenge on 27 August 1995 Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby meets Toronto Blue Jays' All-Star Joe Carter after the Stars played the Stripes in the Celebrity All-Star game which preceded workouts for the 67th All-Star Game at Veterans Stadium on 8 July 1996 in Philadephia Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Co-hosts Oprah Winfrey and Bill Cosby joke with each other during the opening of the 2000 Essence Awards 14 April 2000 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby jokes with baseball great Hank Aaron after they both received the Presidential Medal of Freedom Award from U.S. President George W. Bush during a ceremony on 9 July 2002 at the White House in Washington Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby poses backstage after winning the 'Bob Hope Humanitarian Award' during the 55th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium on 21 September 2003 in Los Angeles Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby 'Tonight Show' host Jay Leno and comedian Bill Cosby laugh during a surprise visit by Cosby to sign a Harley-Davidson motorcycle that Leno is using to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina at NBC studios on 9 September 2005 in Burbank, California Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby speaks during a taping of 'Meet the Press' at the NBC studios on 14 October 2007 in Washington Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby at the 12th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the John F. Kennedy Center on 26 October 2009 in Washington Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby speaks at the National Action Network's 20th annual Keepers of the Dream Awards gala in New York on 6 April 2011 Reuters Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby during the 100th anniversary celebration of the Beverly Hills Hotel & Bungalows supporting the Motion Picture & Television Fund and the American Comedy Fund, 2012 Getty Images Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby speaks onstage at the Thurgood Marshall College Fund 25th Awards Gala on 11 November 2013 in Washington Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby performs at the Treasure Island Hotel & Casino on 26 September 2014 in Las Vegas

Bowman, now a 47-year-old artist, claims that Cosby sexually assaulted her in two separate hotel rooms and also in his New York home, where she alleges he drugged and raped her.

“I know for sure he forced himself multiple times upon me and since he needed to create an environment in which I could not fight him, I can't in all honesty say that I recall penetration because at that time I was in a vacant state of mind, as I was often drugged and brainwashed,” she said.

“Whatever drug he gave me, didn't allow me to think clearly when it was over and done with. It didn't register that I should be panicking. It was like amnesia almost. It was like what a lobotomy would do to you. I couldn't even think clearly when I was awake. I was vacant.”

She continued to allege that he finally threw her out of her home that he subsidised and she moved back home with her family in Denver.

Bowman was one of 13 victims called to take to the witness stand in 2006 when Andrea Constand claimed that Cosby had drugged and assaulted her in his Philadelphia mansion in 2004 - allegations firmly denied by his lawyers.