A sexual assault case against Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler stemming from an encounter in 1975 has been dismissed by a judge.
According to Reuters, US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan ruled that the plaintiff, Jeanne Bellino, a former child model who was 17 at the time of the initial encounter, waited too long to sue Tyler under a New York City law protecting victims of gender-motivated violence.
The plaintiff’s initial allegations involve two encounters on the same day in Manhattan in 1975.
Bellino alleged that she first met Tyler, 27 at the time, via a friend who had arranged for them to meet Aerosmith at the Warwick Hotel following a Manhattan fashion show that Bellino was working. From there, Bellino, her friend, Tyler, and members of his entourage began walking down Sixth Avenue together. At this point, Bellino claims that she asked the singer about a song lyric, and that he became frustrated and forced Bellino into a nearby phone booth where he engaged in simulated sex and put his tongue down her throat.
The lawsuit said the group then went back to the Warwick Hotel, where Tyler allegedly forcibly kissed Bellino and grinded on her near the hotel’s bar while she attempted to resist.
Judge Kaplan ruled that Bellino’s claims did not extend beyond the typical two-year statute of limitations window because she did not allege that Tyler’s actions posed a “serious risk of physical injury.”
Furthermore, Kaplan stated that the Child Victims Act and Adult Survivors Act preempted Bellino’s claim, but the window to sue under those acts had expired. Tyler’s lawyers stated that Bellino showed a “lack of diligence” by not suing under the Child Victims Act when window was still open.
“We agree with the judge’s reasoning, and are grateful for this result on behalf of our client,” stated David Long-Daniels, a lawyer for Tyler.
Tyler and his lawyers are also facing a separate sexual assault lawsuit in Los Angeles filed by his former girlfriend, Julia Holcomb. According to Reuters, Bellino’s legal team is also representing the plaintiff in that case.
