Bob Dylan Is Being Sued for Allegedly Sexually Abusing a Minor in 1965

A woman has accused Bob Dylan of sexually abusing her when she was 12 years old, in a lawsuit filed on Friday—the last day victims of child abuse could file suits as part of New York State’s Child Victim’s Act look-back window.

In the complaint, she is identified only as “JC,” a now 68-year-old woman living in Connecticut, according to the Guardian. JC alleges that the multiple incidents of abuse occurred in 1965, when Dylan would have been 23 or 24 years old, in his room at the Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan, where he lived for years.

Leading up to the alleged abuse, 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,” the suit says. He did so by establishing a “connection” with her and giving her drugs and alcohol to “lower her inhibitions with the object of sexually abusing her.” Dylan also allegedly threatened her with physical violence. The encounter with the musician left her “emotionally scarred and psychologically damaged to this day.”

In all, Dylan stands accused of assault, battery, false imprisonment, and “the infliction of emotional distress,” the Guardian reports. JC is not only seeking damages for these alleged crimes, but a jury trial as well.

Dylan, now 80, has denied the allegations through a spokesperson, who told the outlet that “the 56-year-old claim is untrue and will be vigorously defended.” An attorney for JC, meanwhile, told Pitchfork on Monday: “The complaint speaks for itself, and we shall prove our allegations in a court of law.”