A new lawsuit alleges that Bob Dylan sexually abused a 12-year-old girl in 1965.
The lawsuit, which was filed on Friday in the Manhattan Supreme Court in New York, alleges that Dylan, "befriended and established an emotional connection with a woman" - identified in the lawsuit as 'J.C.' - in order 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."
"Dylan's predatory, sexual and unlawful acts against Plaintiff amounted to a series of harmful and offensive contacts to Plaintiff's person, all of which were done intentionally by him to her without her consent," the lawsuit, filed by lawyer Daniel W. Isaacs, reads.
The Plaintiff, who know resides in Greenwich, Connecticut, alleges that the abuse took place on multiple occasions over a six week period in April and May of 1965, and that some of the alleged incidents took place at Dylan’s apartment at the Chelsea Hotel in New York City.
The lawsuit claims that J.C. “sustained physical and psychological injuries including "severe emotional and psychological distress, humiliation, fright, disassociation, anger, depression, anxiety, personal turmoil and loss of faith, a severe shock to her nervous system, physical pain and mental anguish, and emotional and psychological damage, and, upon information and belief, some or all of these injuries are of a permanent and lasting nature." The Plaintiff is seeking damages, with the amount to be decided at a jury trial.
The lawsuit was filed on the final day that accusations of historic sexual abuse were allowed to be made under the provisions of the Child Victim's Act of 2019. The act allowed abuse survivors to sue their abusers regardless of whether the statute of limitations had passed or not.
A representative for Bob Dylan has stated that “the 56-year-old claim is untrue and will be vigorously defended.”
