Bob Dylan Sexual Assault Accuser Drops Lawsuit Following Allegation Of Destroyed Evidence

Chris Wood/Express/Getty Images

Bob Dylan Sexual Assault Accuser Drops Lawsuit Following Allegation Of Destroyed Evidence

Chris Wood/Express/Getty Images

An anonymous woman who claimed Bob Dylan sexually abused her as a child in 1965 has withdrawn her lawsuit permanently, according to Billboard. This comes one day after the singer’s lawyers accused the woman of destroying key evidence and “irretrievably” compromising the case’s integrity.

The lawsuit in question was filed last year when a woman (identified only as JC) alleged that Dylan had abused her over a six-week period in 1965, rendering her “emotionally scarred and psychologically damaged.” At the time, Dylan’s attorneys responded by calling the accusation “false, malicious, reckless and defamatory” and a “brazen shakedown masquerading as a lawsuit.”

A Thursday hearing asked that a federal judge dismiss the case “with prejudice,” meaning it will be permanently closed. “This case is over. It is outrageous that it was ever brought in the first place,” Dylan’s lead attorney Orin Snyder told Billboard. “We are pleased that the plaintiff has dropped this lawyer-driven sham and that the case has been dismissed with prejudice.” JC’s lawyers have not commented yet.

Earlier in the month, Judge Katherine Polk Failla said during a hearing that JC had apparently not submitted certain emails and text messages that had been requested by a court-ordered deadline. A few days later, JC’s attorneys were apparently fired from the case but didn’t provide any reason. Dylan’s attorneys argued that this was “designed to evade court-ordered document production obligations and the threat of sanctions.”

Dylan’s lawyers then argued that those “critical emails” contained content that “cast doubt” on the case’s core allegations. They also argued that the messages had likely been destroyed by JC, saying the evidence “strongly suggests Plaintiff has destroyed evidence directly relevant to the central factual allegations in this litigation, and that the evidence may be lost forever. This would mean Plaintiff will never be able to comply with her discovery obligations and the integrity of these proceedings and Defendant’s ability to mount a fair defense have been compromised irretrievably.”

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