A US judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit accusing the Aerosmith frontman, Steven Tyler, of sexually assaulting a former teenage model twice in one day in Manhattan nearly 50 years ago.
US district judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan said Jeanne Bellino had waited too long to sue the 75-year-old Tyler, who has “vehemently” denied her allegations, under a New York City law protecting victims of gender-motivated violence.
The judge said Bellino did not qualify for a two-year window to pursue claims that would otherwise extend beyond statutes of limitations because she did not allege that Tyler’s conduct posed a “serious risk of physical injury”.
And in a ruling that could affect other cases, Kaplan said two state laws, the Child Victims Act and Adult Survivors Act, pre-empted Bellino’s claim, “substantially for the reasons” given by Tyler’s lawyers.
The lawyers said those laws, whose windows to sue have expired, “occupy the field regarding the revival of claims derived from state penal sexual assault law” and Bellino showed a “lack of diligence” by not suing under the Child Victims Act.
Bellino was a teenager working on a fashion show in Manhattan in the summer of 1975 when she alleged a friend arranged for her to meet Aerosmith at a nearby hotel. Her lawsuit alleged Tyler, then about 27, sexually assaulted her twice, once in a phone box and later at the hotel.
A lawyer for Bellino did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
David Long-Daniels, a lawyer for Tyler, said: “We agree with the judge’s reasoning, and are grateful for this result on behalf of our client.”
Tyler still faces a separate lawsuit that alleges sexual battery and assault of a minor relating to his relationship with Julia Holcomb Misley, then 16, over a three-year period during the same decade. The singer denies Misley’s allegations of assault and battery but not that he had sex with her. In May Tyler’s lawyers argued that Misley could not use the publication of his memoirs in 2004 as cause for “emotional distress” in court as it was “free speech” and he had not identified her.
– Reuters contributed to this report
Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html.
