Steven Tyler finally won the legal battle against the sexual allegations he had been facing for years.
On February 21, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan dismissed a lawsuit that accused Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler of sexually assaulting a former teenage model twice in one day in Manhattan nearly 50 years ago.
Kaplan ruled that Jeanne Bellino waited too long to sue Tyler under a New York City law protecting victims of gender-motivated violence. Tyler has vehemently denied her allegations. The judge stated that Bellino did not qualify for a two-year window to pursue claims because she did not allege that Tyler’s conduct posed a ‘serious risk of physical injury.’
Tyler’s legal representatives contended that Bellino could have presented her case earlier under two prior state laws—the Child Victims Act and Adult Survivors Act—both of which had elapsed windows for filing claims. They asserted that her failure to do so indicated a ‘lack of diligence’ on the part of the woman. In dismissing the case, Judge Kaplan aligned with the arguments put forth by Tyler’s legal team.
Tyler’s attorney, too, agrees with the judge’s reasoning:
“We agree with the judge’s reasoning, and are grateful for this result on behalf of our client.”
What Were The Model’s Claims?
Bellino, a former child model, claimed to have met Tyler in New York in the summer of 1975 when she was 17. She alleged in the suit that Tyler, around 27 at the time, violently assaulted her twice on the only day they encountered each other.
According to Bellino, she met Tyler after a friend arranged for them to meet Aerosmith at the Warwick Hotel following a fashion show she was working in Manhattan. After meeting Tyler and his entourage, they walked down Sixth Avenue together. During the walk, Bellino asked Tyler a question about a song lyric, which allegedly frustrated Tyler. This led to him forcing her into a phone booth.
The suit claims that while in the phone booth, Tyler assaulted Bellino, groping her and engaging in inappropriate behavior. Others in the entourage allegedly stood by laughing, and passersby witnessed the incident without intervening. Bellino eventually freed herself by raising her knee and pulling on Tyler’s hair, running out of the phone booth in shock and fear, according to the suit.
Bellino now has until March 13 to amend and resubmit her case.
