Bob Dylan was sued for sexual abuse of a minor in incidents from 1965

27th April 1965: American folk singers,

In 1965, Bob Dylan was already a massively popular and successful folk music artist and he was just about to “go electric” and defy the folk-music conventions. He was probably still living full-time in New York, and his thing with Joan Baez was winding down. This is the setting for a new complaint being brought against Dylan. According to the civil complaint, Dylan is being accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl at the Chelsea Hotel in 1965.

Bob Dylan sexually abused a 12-year-old girl at his Chelsea Hotel apartment in 1965 when he was around 24 years old, a new lawsuit alleges. The Manhattan Supreme Court civil complaint, filed Friday night by a woman identified in court papers as J.C., claims that she was “a victim of one or more criminal sex acts.”

“Between April and May of 1965 the defendant, Dylan, exploited his status as a musician by grooming J.C. to gain her trust and to obtain control over her as part of his plan to sexually molest and abuse J.C.,” the lawsuit alleges. Court papers further claim that Dylan used his fame to “provide J.C. with alcohol and drugs, and sexually abused her multiple times.”

The suit also alleges that Dylan “befriended and established an emotional connection with the plaintiff, J.C., to lower her inhibitions with the object of sexually abusing her.” In addition to the alleged grooming, alcohol, and drugs, she claims there were “threats of physical violence.” J.C. was left “emotionally scarred and psychologically damaged to this day,” court papers state.

Dylan, now 80, has denied the allegations. “The 56-year-old claim is untrue and will be vigorously defended,” a spokesman for Dylan said in a statement.

Although J.C.’s claims involve alleged abuse taking place nearly 60 years ago, she was able to file suit against Dylan under New York state’s Child Victims Act. The legislation, which was passed in 2019, provided a one-year window where victims of childhood sexual abuse could file suit against their attacker — regardless of when the abuse took place. This window was extended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The deadline to file suits under this act closed at midnight Friday.

[From Vulture]

Bob Dylan has never – to my knowledge – been accused of anything like this before. That being said, his accuser has the right to be heard and listened to, and her complaint makes it clear that she’s been dealing with trauma for decades. I’m very curious about how this case moves forward and how Dylan plans to vigorously defend himself. Does he even remember that time in his life?

Bob Dylan Is 80-Years-Old Today! **FILE PHOTOS**

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red.

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