A spokesperson for the musician says the allegations will be “vigorously defended.”
An unnamed woman is suing Bob Dylan, alleging he gave her drugs and alcohol before sexually abusing her when she was twelve years old.
The lawsuit, filed with the New York Supreme Court on Friday, alleges Dylan “befriended and established an emotional connection with the plaintiff,” identified only as JC, and groomed her over a six-week period in April and May of 1965.
The alleged abuse is said to have occurred on multiple occasions throughout this time.
Manhattan court papers obtained by the Guardian claim a then-23 or 24-year-old Dylan “exploited his status as a musician by grooming JC to gain her trust and to obtain control over her as part of his plan to sexually molest and abuse” her.
The complaint also claims the folk singer-songwriter established a connection with JC 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.”
According to the complaint, the depression, humiliation and anxiety that JC suffered as a result of the alleged abuse “are of permanent and lasting natures and have incapacitated the plaintiff from attending her regular activities.” It is claimed this led her to seek medical treatment on several occasions.
Now a 68-year-old woman, JC is seeking unspecified damages as well as a jury trial for allegations of assault, battery, false imprisonment and infliction of emotional distress.
A spokesperson for Dylan, now 80, claimed the allegations were false, saying: “The 56-year-old claim is untrue and will be vigorously defended.”
The suit was submitted just ahead of the New York State’s Child Victim Act look-back deadline, which closed on Saturday.
The act, authorised in 2019, allowed adults to file civil suits involving allegations of sexual abuse they suffered as children, but were previously time-barred under a statute of limitations.
