Law & Crime
A woman claims in a lawsuit that legendary singer-songwriter Bob Dylan in 1965 plied her with drugs and alcohol to groom at the age of 12 in order to sexually molest and abuse her.
According to the lawsuit, in the spring of 1965, Dylan, whose given name is Robert Allen Zimmerman, carefully developed an emotional relationship with the plaintiff, a now 65-year-old woman identified only as “J.C.” in the complaint, then repeatedly assaulted and molested her.
The woman, who filed her complaint in New York County Supreme Court on Friday, claimed the abuse took place in an apartment the now-81-year-old Dylan kept in Manhattan’s iconic Chelsea Hotel.
“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 states, adding that in pursuit of that end he would “provide J.C. with alcohol and drugs and sexually abuse her multiple times.”
“Bob Dylan, over a six-week period between April and May of 1965 befriended and established an emotional connection with the plaintiff, J.C., to lower her inhibitions with the object of sexually abusing her, which he did, coupled with the provision of drugs, alcohol, and threats of physical violence, leaving her emotionally scarred and psychologically damaged to this day,” the complaint continued.
A spokesperson for Dylan told People Magazine that “the 56-year-old claim is untrue and will be vigorously defended.”
