One of the two sexual assault complaints filed against Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler was dismissed: the one filed in November by former model Jeanne Bellino.
The latter alleged that Tyler sexually assaulted her in 1975, when she was 17 and he was 27. The suit was filed under a New York law that gave a two-year window to alleged victims to sue their alleged attackers outside the statute of limitations. The law concerns victims of “gender-motivated violence”
However, the federal court judge who handled the complaint ruled Wednesday that Jeanne Bellino’s allegations were not protected by law, because the latter “does not allege conduct presenting a serious risk of physical injury.” can we read on the website of Pitchfork. In the eyes of American justice, the statute of limitations applies.
According to a press release published on the website of the plaintiff’s lawyers, Jeanne Bellino intends to ask the court to reinstate the trial.
Steven Tyler, 75, is the subject of another complaint for sexual assault, filed by a woman who was also a minor at the time of the alleged events. The plaintiff, Julia Holcomb, met the singer after a concert in 1973, when she was 16 and he was 25. According to the magazine Rolling Stone, the parents of the teenager would have given the rock singer custody of their daughter “so that he would not be arrested if he took her on tour with him”. The latter would have become pregnant at 17 and had an abortion. Julia Holcomb’s complaint was filed in December under California law that allows for a temporary waiver of the statute of limitations in cases of child sexual abuse.
On December 8, Aerosmith canceled the remainder of its planned Las Vegas shows at the end of the year, on the recommendation of the singer’s doctor.