Bob Dylan denies allegation he abused 12-year-old girl in 1965
New York, New York – Bob Dylan is accused of molesting a 12-year-old girl over a six-week period in 1965 in a new lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.
The voice-of-a-generation singer-songwriter, whose given name is Robert Allen Zimmerman, allegedly plied the girl with drugs and alcohol, establishing a relationship for the purpose of sexually abusing the preteen, the suit claims.
He also physically abused the girl, who is only referenced as J.C., the suit claims.
"Dylan exploited his status as a musician by grooming J.C. to gain her trust and obtain control over her as part of his plan to sexually molest and abuse J.C.," the suit reads.
A representative for Dylan denied the allegations.
"The 56-year-old claim is untrue and will be vigorously defended," said Larry Jenkins in a statement to the New York Daily News.
Alleged abuse took place in 1965
The lawsuit alleges the abuse occurred during April and May of 1965, the same year his fifth album, Bringing It All Back Home, came out.
The abuse happened "multiple times" and sometimes took place at his apartment at the famed Chelsea Hotel, the suit says.
Because of the alleged sexual molestation, J.C. was depressed, angry, and anxious and suffers from issues related to it to this day, according to the lawsuit.
The suit was filed under New York’s Child Victims Act, which temporarily got rid of the statute of limitations for people to file lawsuits alleging sexual abuse when they were minors.
The window for victims of child sexual abuse to file their lawsuits closed August 14, the day after J.C.’s suit was filed.
Dylan was sued earlier this year by the widow of a songwriter he worked with who demanded more than $7 million for selling the rights to songs her husband had co-written. Dylan won that lawsuit.
The 80-year-old Nobel prize winner Dylan has recorded 39 albums in his legendary career that has seen him win Grammys, Golden Globes, and even an Academy Award.
He sold his more than 600-song catalog to Universal Music Publishing in 2020. The library’s estimated value is $300 million.
Cover photo: IMAGO / Future Image