Content warning: This story contains discussion of alleged sexual abuse.
A woman accusing Bob Dylan of sexually abusing her as a child has amended the time frame in which the alleged incident took place.
In the initial lawsuit, filed back in August, an anonymous claimant identified in documents as J.C. alleged that over the course of six weeks between April and May of 1965, Dylan (then in his mid-20s) “befriended and established an emotional connection” with the girl, aged 12 at the time, before abusing her both physically and emotionally.
J.C. alleged that she “sustained physical and psychological injuries, including but not limited to, severe emotion and psychological distress, humiliation, fright, dissociation, anger, depression, anxiety, personal turmoil and loss of faith, a severe shock to her nervous system, physical pain and mental anguish, and emotional and psychological damage”.
A representative for Dylan fired back at the allegations, saying: “The 56-year-old claim is untrue and will be vigorously defended.” Just days after news of the lawsuit broke, British writer Clinton Heylin – who has written extensively about Dylan’s life and work – jumped in to question the allegations’ validity, citing the claimant’s timeline of events.
“Dylan was touring England during that time,” Heylin told The Huffington Post, “and was in Los Angeles for two of those weeks, plus a day or two at Woodstock. The tour was 10 days, but Bob flew into London on April 26 and arrived back in New York on June 3. If Dylan was in New York in mid-April, it was for no more than a day or two. Woodstock was where he spent most of his time when not touring.”
In response, the accuser’s lawyer, Daniel Isaacs, said that he and his client “stand by the pleading”.
Page Six reports that Isaacs has now altered the wording in his client’s lawsuit, amending the allegations to claim that her and Dylan’s encounters spanned “a period of several months in the spring of 1965”.
In response to the updated filing, a representative for Dylan said: “The amended complaint recycles the same fabricated claims as the original complaint filed in August. They were as false then as they are now. We will pursue all legal options, including pursuing sanctions against the attorneys behind this shameful, defamatory and opportunistic case.”
Peter Gleason – a second lawyer working with J.C. – chimed in to opine that “Bob Dylan, the so-called voice of a generation, should not, through his spokesperson, seek to divert attention from the issue at hand. While Dylan will have his opportunity to defend the allegations, allowing his, ‘spokesperson,’ to threaten the victim’s attorneys is deplorable.”
As it stands, J.C. is seeking unspecified damages and a jury trial.
For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
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