Bob Dylan, the US singer, is being sued by a woman who alleges that he had sexually abused her in 1965 when she was 12-years old, Billboard reported.
The survivor, who wished to remain anonymous but was referred to with the initials “J.C.”, filed the suit against the singer on August 13, under New York’s Child Victims Act of 2019. She has sued the singer for assault and battery, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and sought compensation for punitive and exemplary damages.
As per the complaint, the abuse went on for a period of six weeks, between April and May 1965, during which Dylan “provided her with drugs and alcohol and threatened physical violence, “leaving her emotionally scarred and psychologically damaged to this day.””
She further alleged that the abuse rendered economic losses including medical costs related to his conduct, some of which allegedly occurred in his apartment at Hotel Chelsea.
A spokesperson for Dylan, in a statement to Billboard said “The 56-year-old claim is untrue and will be vigorously defended.”
Several women have sued people from the entertainment industry under the Child Victims Act for alleged sexual abuse. Under the new law, prosecutors could bring criminal charges until a victim turned 18 and victims could sue until the age of 55. “The new law also provides a one-year “look-back window”, during which old claims that had already passed the statute of limitations could be revived,” The New York Times reported.
Recommended
The most recent case filed under the act, was against pop-singer Nicki Minaj’s husband Kenneth Petty, by complainant Jennifer Hough, who alleged that Petty sexually assaulted her in 1994 when she was 16. Hough also filed a lawsuit against Minaj and Petty, for intimidating her to recant her story, Variety reported on August 13. Prior to this, Virginia Giuffre, one of the accusers of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, sued Prince Andrew, the Duke of York in a New York court on August 9, alleging sexual abuse when she was 17.