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Bob Dylan hit with lawsuit claiming he raped 12-year-old girl in 1965


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Let's be honest -- any testimony given by Dylan is gonna sound like Benicio del Toro in The Usual Suspects.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/16/entertainment/bob-dylan-sexual-abuse-lawsuit/index.html

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(CNN)A lawsuit filed in New York City claims that legendary singer-songwriter Bob Dylan sexually abused a 12-year-old girl in 1965, according to court documents filed Friday.

The now-68-year-old woman, identified in the lawsuit as J.C., alleges that "over a six-week period" the singer "befriended and established an emotional connection" with her and ultimately sexually abused her multiple times between April and May of 1965 when she was 12.

In a statement to USA Today, a spokesperson for Dylan said Monday that "the 56-year-old claim is untrue and will be vigorously defended." CNN has reached out to two publicists who represent Dylan for comment.

Attorneys for J.C. claim that Dylan befriended 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 lawsuit states.

The lawsuit further claims that Dylan used his status as a famous musician by "grooming J.C. to gain her trust and to obtain control over her" and alleges that he sexually abused her "at certain times" in his apartment at the Hotel Chelsea in New York City.

When reached by CNN, an attorney for J.C. declined to say how she came to meet Dylan and would not elaborate on the nature of sexual abuse claims.

"The complaint speaks for itself. We'll prove all of the allegations in a court of law," said attorney Daniel Isaacs. "The complaint was filed after much research and thorough vetting and there's no doubt that she was with him at the Hotel Chelsea."

J.C., who now resides in Greenwich, Connecticut, said in the lawsuit that she has suffered and continues to suffer "serious and severe mental distress, anguish, humiliation and embarrassment, as well as economic losses" and is seeking compensatory and punitive damages from Dylan.

The suit was filed one day before the New York Child Victims Act expired on August 14, 2021. J.C.'s attorney told CNN the lawsuit was filed pursuant to the act, and that it gave her "opportunity to seek redress."

Dylan, who was born Robert Allen Zimmerman in Duluth, Minnesota, turned 80 on May 24.

He has sold more than 125 million records during his career. Some of his most famous songs include "The Times They Are a-Changin'," "Like a Rolling Stone" and "Blowin' in the Wind."

In 2008, Dylan won a Pulitzer Prize special citation for "his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power." In 2016, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for "having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition."

 

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I think everyone, man and woman, can agree this is such a curious reveal that every bit of judicial patience must be afforded Bob Dylan.  He deserves a presumption of innocence throughout the process.  

Having said that, he has always been kinda creepy.  And having said that, it should be noted that Dylan only sold his entire catalog once in those 56 years...for nearly $300mm...a few months ago.  

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Wiki says the tour was a little less than 2 weeks long, so there was plenty of April & May for him to be stateside.  Of course, I have no idea when he went over or came back.

Tour dates[edit]

Date City Country Venue
April 30, 1965 Sheffield England Sheffield City Hall
May 1, 1965 Liverpool Liverpool Odeon Theatre
May 2, 1965 Leicester De Montfort Hall
May 5, 1965 Birmingham Birmingham Town Hall
May 6, 1965 Newcastle Newcastle City Hall
May 7, 1965 Manchester Free Trade Hall
May 9, 1965 London Royal Albert Hall
May 10, 1965

 

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OK, one final nit to pick.  If the dates listed are the claimed "travel records", then it really only carves out April 9 for the first 3.5 weeks of April.

I think this thing kinda seems like a reach as much as any of you, but the plaintiff is certainly going to dig in farther on these alleged travel dates.

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I'm not sure how I feel about this cases.

On one hand, if Bill Cosby taught us anything, it's that a public persona can hide some really nasty stuff. Calling Cosby out and dragging his name through the mud was the right thing to do.  He may eventually win in the the courts due to technicalities, but people how know what a sleaze ball he is.  He's not getting his reputation back. 

On the other hand, it's 56 fucking years later. If all she has is her word, which is probably the case, it feels a like bull-shit money-grab that needs to have punishment come back at her.

 

 

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5 hours ago, Deej said:

Jimmy Page is laughing. 


I was an article and doing math on this groupie's timeline from her quotes (I think that it may have been "Bebe Buell", but not positive) and she was saying that she was like 15 or something when she slept with David Bowie and then Jimmy Page, but she absolutely wasn't.

With David Bowie the girl was 12 or barely 13 and soon after, when Jimmy Page's bouncer/body guard went to some place and grabbed her and put her in his car to then drive her to the Riot House (Continental Hyatt House on the Sunset Strip) to deliver her to Jimmy Page so that he could "seduce her" in his hotel suite, she was barely 13. Like straight up 7th grade.

Those guys in the early '70s were getting girls around the time they had their first period. Don't know if Bob Dylan was nearly a decade ahead of them, but if he was, I doubt that he was raping them. At about 5'6" 120 lbs and with the age of consent at around 15 possibly* many states, he probably just slept with some girl that he'd gotten high with.

Things are drastically different now.

*Apparently by 1920, around the time of Prohibition, a lot of states raised their ages to close to 18. Some relaxed them a bit in the coming decades while others raised their slightly, but if this link is to be believed, in 1880 most of the US States had an age of 10 with some being 12. https://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/teaching-modules/230?section=primarysources&source=24

What the law is and what actually occurred in practice may be different. The mayor's daughter in "Animal House" basically seduced Pinto and she was only 13. And that was supposed to take place in ~1963.

Dylan supposedly had one of those auras that people knew when he entered a room. He was small and unassuming, but there was a magnetic energy that had even The Beatles (or at least Paul & John) being drawn toward him. This lawsuit is absolutely about money.

Edited by Napoleon
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14 hours ago, smuggs said:

Nail in the coffin if he mailed her any dick polaroids.

Back in the 70's, you could choose from any number of dick postcards on a carousel in the hotel gift shop to send to loved ones.  

Still I felt, "I have the worst fucking travel agents."  

Child molestation is probably the worst crime after treason.  So if it's true, Dylan can rot in hell.  But if I'm honest, after 56 years to wait after his check clears from selling maybe the most valuable songwriting catalog in U.S. history seems curious.  

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10 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

The no statute of limitations thing on sexual assault is more criminal and quasi-criminal pandering.

A 10 or 15 year SOL should do it.  Fifty years, or even 25, is just not tenable.

I should add that, in theory, no statute of limitations could be seen as a good thing, leaving the decision to prosecute or file suit to the discretion of the prosecutor and/or plaintiff.  But I think experience has shown that that discretion will be indulged in favor or bringing the indictment or suit, more times than not.  Maybe that's a good thing in the "interest of justice," but it's really hard to envision a sound case going forward based on events and evidence that is a quarter or half-century old.

If this case doesn't devolve into a shitshow, maybe it will prove me wrong.

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The no statute of limitations thing on sexual assault is more criminal and quasi-criminal pandering.
A 10 or 15 year SOL should do it.  Fifty years, or even 25, is just not tenable.

Was coming to post this. Also, if it’s just her word against his with no contemporaneous physical evidence, the judge should not let it go to the jury.
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Mick Jagger in 1969 singing about 13 year olds.  Well, the recorded version is *only* about 15 year olds.  The live version linked below he changes it to 13.  Pretty disturbing lyrics.  But does anyone question for second that Mick Jagger (and many others in that era) weren't doing just this.  Hell, Jerry Lee Lewis married a 13 year old.

I hear the click-clack of your feet on the stairs
I know you're no scare-eyed honey
There'll be a feast if you just come upstairs
But it's no hanging matter
It's no capital crime
 
I can see that you're fifteen years old
No I don't want your I.D.
And I've seen that you're so far from home
But it's no hanging matter
It's no capital crime
 
Oh yeah, you're a strange stray cat
Oh yeah, don'tcha scratch like that
Oh yeah, you're a strange stray cat
Bet your mama don't know you scream like that
I bet your mother don't know you can spit like that.
 

 

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On 8/19/2021 at 1:42 PM, Don Johnson said:

Mick Jagger in 1969 singing about 13 year olds.  Well, the recorded version is *only* about 15 year olds.  The live version linked below he changes it to 13.  Pretty disturbing lyrics.  But does anyone question for second that Mick Jagger (and many others in that era) weren't doing just this.  Hell, Jerry Lee Lewis married a 13 year old.

I hear the click-clack of your feet on the stairs
I know you're no scare-eyed honey
There'll be a feast if you just come upstairs
But it's no hanging matter
It's no capital crime
 
I can see that you're fifteen years old
No I don't want your I.D.
And I've seen that you're so far from home
But it's no hanging matter
It's no capital crime
 
Oh yeah, you're a strange stray cat
Oh yeah, don'tcha scratch like that
Oh yeah, you're a strange stray cat
Bet your mama don't know you scream like that
I bet your mother don't know you can spit like that.
 

 

Rock stars in those days were pretty much all banging 15 year old groupies.

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