Entertainment
Bob Dylan sued for allegedly sexually abusing 12-year-old girl in 1965
Bob Dylan has been accused of sexually abusing a tween in 1965 (Picture: Richard Isaac/REX/Shutterstock)
Bob Dylan is being sued for allegedly grooming and sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl in 1965.
In a lawsuit filed on Friday, the music icon is accused of giving the tween ‘drugs and alcohol before sexually abusing her at his Chelsea Hotel apartment’.
It is alleged that the 80-year-old musician used his star status to groom, gain the trust of and control the victim ‘as part of his plan to sexually molest and abuse’ her, according to the Manhattan Supreme Court papers, which only identify the plaintiff as ‘J.C.’
A representative for Dylan told TMZ: ‘The 56-year-old claim is untrue and will be vigorously defended.’
The suit alleges: ‘Bob Dylan, over a six-week period between April and May of 1965 befriended and established an emotional connection with the plaintiff.’
It is also claimed that the American singer-songwriter established the ‘connection’ to ‘lower [J.C.’s] inhibitions with the object of sexually abusing her, which he did, coupled with the provision of drugs, alcohol and threats of physical violence, leaving her emotionally scarred and psychologically damaged to this day.’
The folk pop singer Bob Dylan allegedly used his star status to groom a 12-year-old girl (Picture: Express Newspapers/Getty Images)
The suit, as seen by Page Six, claims the allege abuse happened numerous times and occurred at the Chelsea Hotel in NYC.
J.C. is seeking unspecified damages and a jury trial.
The victim, who is now 65 years old and living in Connecticut, has claimed the emotional effects from the abuse have had a long-term impact on her.
The singer’s rep has said the claim is ‘untrue and will be vigorously defended’ (Picture: Sipa/REX/Shutterstock)
She’s had to reach out for medical treatment, according to the filing.
The suit alleges everything the victim has dealt with following the alleged abuse ‘are of a permanent and lasting natures and have incapacitated plaintiff from attending her regular activities.’
The suit was filed on the eve of the close-out of the New York Child Victims’ Act look-back window.
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The window allowed victims of childhood abuse to file suit against their attackers and the institutions that protected them regardless of how old the claims were and whether they had since passed outside of the statute of limitations.
Dylan, who was born Robert Allen Zimmerman, is a father of six from two different marriages.
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