Steven Tyler Sexual Assault Case Dropped
A case accusing Steven Tyler of sexual assault has been dismissed by a federal judge.
Per Billboard, the case brought by Jeanne Bellino was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan. Judge Kaplan ruled Bellino’s case did not fall under New York City’s amended law that allows abuse victims to sue decades after the instance of their claims. He wrote, in part, in his ruling, “The complaint in this case does not alleged conduct presenting a serious risk of physical injury and therefore fails to state a legally sufficient claim under the [NYC statute].”
Billboard notes of the NYC statute, “Numerous other alleged victims who have filed long-delayed abuse cases under the law in question — New York’s Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law – after it opened a two-year window for such lawsuits from March 1, 2023 to March 1, 2025.”
As previously reported, Bellino claimed Tyler assaulted her in the summer of 1975 when she was 17. At that time, Tyler was around 27.
Bellino says a friend arranged for her and Tyler to meet up following a fashion show she worked in. She then alleges Tyler forced her into a phone booth and touched her inappropriately and aggressively kissed her. This all allegedly happened while Tyler’s unnamed entourage members watched and laughed. No passersby interfered. Later, at Aerosmith hotel, Tyler forcibly kissed and grinded against Bellino.
Shocked by both incidents, Bellino eventually made a break for it. She said she ran out of the hotel, and a doorman who saw the phone booth assault “flung her” into a cab and told the driver to go.
Tyler’s Other Sexual Assault Lawsuit
The Aerosmith frontman is also seeking the dismissal of another sexual abuse lawsuit brought against him by Julia Holcomb in December 2022. She alleges she and Tyler were in a three-year relationship that began in 1973 when she was 16 and he was 25.
As previously reported, Holcomb says Tyler was able to convince her mother to make him her legal guardian which allowed him to live and travel with her on tour easier.
Additionally, Holcomb accuses Tyler in the lawsuit of convincing her to have an abortion at 17 in 1975. She claims Tyler said he would stop supporting her if she didn’t terminate the pregnancy. While pregnant, Holcomb escaped an apartment fire, and Tyler claimed the smoke she inhaled while escaping the fire harmed the baby, which was another reason to terminate the pregnancy. (Holcome’s lawsuit claims her unborn baby was fine following the fire according to a medical professional.)
Per CBS Los Angeles, Tyler’s legal team filed new documents in Torrance Superior Court in April 2023. The documents allege “… the plaintiff’s claims are fully or partially barred by alleged consent on her part and that [Tyler] had at least qualified immunity as her one-time guardian.”
CBS Los Angeles further noted, “Tyler’s attorneys argue that Tyler’s actions were legitimate, justified and in good-faith … Tyler’s attorneys state that the plaintiff has not ‘sustained any injury or loss by reason of any act or omission on the part of (Tyler)’ and that the plaintiff is not entitled to any damages from the 75-year-old musician.”