crime

Steven Tyler Sued for Sexual Assault of a Minor, Again

Steven Tyler. Photo: Getty Images for Janie’s Fund

Steven Tyler is facing his second sexual-assault lawsuit of the year. A woman has come forward with new allegations against the Aerosmith lead singer, accusing him of assaulting her twice when she was a teenager, per NBC News. In the lawsuit filed in the New York Superior Court on November 2, Jeanne Bellino says she and a friend met Tyler and the band in New York when she was on a modeling trip “in approximately 1975 when she was approximately 17 years old.†The filing claims the first assault occurred on a walk down Sixth Avenue when they met up with the band and their entourage. After Bellino made a comment about a song lyric, Tyler allegedly became “visibly irritated.†“Suddenly Tyler grabbed Plaintiff by the hand and forced her into a phone booth,†the suit alleges. Tyler held her “captive†in the phone booth, forcibly “stuck his tongue down her throat,†“mauling and groping,†“humping,†and “pretending to have sex with†Bellino. She claims no one intervened, adding that she freed herself by pulling on his hair and raising her knee.

When they arrived at the Warwick Hotel, where the group was planning to hang out, Tyler allegedly assaulted Bellino again. She accuses the front man of a second attack at the hotel bar. Bellino says Tyler “abruptly left†and invited her to his hotel room. She declined while sobbing, the lawsuit says. The filing argues that Bellino suffered permanent physical and emotional distress in the aftermath of the alleged incident. It also says that she was medicated and hospitalized as a result. Bellino is suing Tyler for damages and seeking a trial by jury.

In December, Tyler was named in a sexual assault of a minor lawsuit over a claim by a different woman. Julia Holcomb accused the Aerosmith member of beginning a sexual relationship with her when she was 16 years old in 1973. She also claimed he persuaded her to get an abortion at 17, which she shared at anti-abortion rallies and public interviews. Holcomb’s lawsuit cites Tyler’s 2011 book, Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?, where he wrote that he “almost took a teen bride.†He attempted to dismiss part of the lawsuit in May, arguing that the admission in his memoir is protected free speech.

Steven Tyler Accused of Sexual Assault of a Minor, Again