Bob Dylan Being Sued For Sexually Assaulting A Minor Over 50 Years Ago
Bob Dylan is being sued over an alleged sexual and physical assault incident from more than 50 years ago. It is unclear if it will hold up
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Bob Dylan could be facing some time in court with a lawsuit recently filed against him stemming from an alleged incident more than 50 years ago. Whether the case has any real legs at all remains to be seen. But Deadline is reporting that an unnamed plaintiff has filed in a New York court seeking damages from a supposed incident in 1965. According to the suit, the plaintiff, named only J.C. is accusing Dylan of grooming and sexual assault when she was only 12-years-old.
Details are a little spotty on the accusations against Bob Dylan in this latest lawsuit, but apparently, it references a prolonged timeline in 1965, over a 12 week period in which the plaintiff is saying Dylan assaulted her in the Chelsea Hotel for three months. Again, specifics of the alleged assault aren’t clear, but the plaintiff is seeking compensation for “psychological damage” as well as “emotional trauma” stemming from the incidents. She says that drugs were involved as well as alcohol and even threats of bodily harm and physical violence against her person.
As the Deadline reporting points out though, some internet sleuths might have already poked some holes in the lawsuit. According to the timeline stated by the plaintiff, Bob Dylan was on tour in the United Kingdom during this period. That alone would apparently be good enough for a bulletproof alibi regarding his whereabouts. Again, it remains to be seen if this all lines up but there is at least some context to expect this lawsuit to not last long in open court. If the timelines are able to be dismissed this easily, and Dylan’s camp has categorically denied the accusations, then we might not hear all that much about the suit.
The year, 1965, mentioned in the alleged Bob Dylan lawsuit was one of the biggest ones of the icon’s career. Having been a part of the New York City and then national music scene over the beginning part of the decade, that year saw him with a few notable releases. His iconic album Highway 61 Revisited hit shelves and radio stations and included the hit “Like A Rolling Stone”. Additionally, that year saw the Newport Folk Festival performance that is thought to have brought folk music into the rock scene. That’s when he decided to do an all-electric set which was met with derision by the crowd. But it went on to become one of the turning points in music for the decade.
The award-winning, 80-year-old Bob Dylan is still touring and has a series of UK dates lined up for later this year. It remains to be seen if this latest lawsuit affects those plans. It is worth mentioning that the lawsuit came on a specific filing date in New York state. The state’s statute of limitations had been lifted around certain crimes giving victims the ability to file well after typical timelines would have allowed. This filing came among others before the August 14th deadline. We will wait on further news on whether it moves ahead in the court system.
