A sexual assault lawsuit filed against Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler has been dismissed.
The lawsuit was filed against the rock veteran back in November 2023, when a former teenage model accused him of sexually assaulting her in 1975.
In the filing, the plaintiff, Jeanne Bellino, claimed that the singer had sexually assaulted her twice in one day, when she was aged 17 at the time.
Now, US District Judge Lewis Kaplan has dismissed the accusations raised against Tyler, and stated that the allegations did not meet a certain criteria needed to be taken further.
Bellino had filed the lawsuit under New York City’s Victim of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act – which extended the statute of limitations for certain alleged offences in a bid to encourage more people to come forward and raise cases that otherwise would have been outdated.
Yesterday’s (February 21) dismissal came on the basis that Bellino’s claim did not qualify because she did not allege Tyler’s conduct presented a “serious risk of physical injury”. The judge also ruled that the plaintiff showed a “lack of diligence” by not filing the suit under the Child Victims Act, which came before the Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act.
Following the accusations, Tyler has “vehemently” denied the claims made. Reacting to the dismissal of the case, his lawyer, David Long-Daniels, said: “We agree with the judge’s reasoning, and are grateful for this result on behalf of our client,” (via BBC).
TMZ has reported that the plaintiff has until March 13 to amend her complaint.
A separate case is currently underway against the singer after another woman filed a lawsuit against him for sexual abuse back in 2022. Tyler has denied the claims also.
For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.