Bob Dylan in the 1960s.
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A woman is suing legendary singer-songwriter Bob Dylan in a New York court for sexually abusing her in the 1960s at the age of 12.
Dylan’s spokesman called the allegations “untrue” and said the lawsuit filed Friday with the Manhattan Supreme Court was “vigorously defended” by lawyers for the singer.
The lawsuit was first reported by the New York Post.
The lawsuit was filed one day before the expiration of a year-long window opened by New York state law, the Child Victims Act, which allowed adults to sue for alleged child sexual abuse, regardless of when the alleged behavior took place.
The lawsuit alleges that Dylan, now 80, “befriended and emotionally connected” the girl over a six-week period in April and May 1965 in preparation for sexual abuse.
The lawsuit states that Dylan, whose real name is Robert Zimmerman, “took advantage of his musician status to provide” the girl “with alcohol and drugs and to sexually abuse her several times.”
The ad also accuses him of threatening her with physical violence and that she is “still emotionally scarred and psychologically damaged”. And it is said that the girl, who had just turned 12 in April 1965, suffered physical injuries.
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The lawsuit alleges that the multi-Grammy Award-winning singer abused the girl at certain times in his apartment in the Hotel Chelsea, a then run-down Manhattan hotel that is now a landmark for its architecture and famous clientele.
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Dylan lived in an apartment in the hotel named after his neighborhood from 1961 to 1964. He stayed there in the fall of 1965 to write songs for his album “Blonde on Blonde”.
Dylan performed on a short tour of England from April 30, 1965 to May 10, 1965, the footage of which was used by the film director DA Pennebaker in his documentary “Don’t Look Back”.
Specifically, the lawsuit states that Dylan “maintained” an apartment at the Hotel Chelsea between April and May 1965, the period in which the abuse allegedly took place, “according to information and belief.
The statute of limitations for Dylan’s alleged abuse of the girl has long expired.
The woman who sued Dylan is identified in the lawsuit by the initials JC. The lawsuit states that the prosecutor currently resides in Greenwich, Connecticut.
The lawsuit alleges assault, assault, wrongful imprisonment and willful infliction of emotional stress. It claims unspecified monetary damage.
Plaintiff’s attorney, Daniel Isaacs, said when asked to comment, “The lawsuit speaks for itself and we will prove our allegations in court.”
Dylan, who wrote the legendary ’60s songs “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “The Times They Are A-Changin ‘,” and “Like a Rolling Stone,” is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an Oscar – Winner songwriter and winner of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
In 2016 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
