Aerosmith's Steven Tyler cleared of sexual assault allegation by US court

Steven Tyler of Aerosmith performs during night one of their "Peace Out: The Farewell Tour" on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023
Steven Tyler of Aerosmith performs during night one of their "Peace Out: The Farewell Tour" on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023 Copyright Credit: AP Photo
Copyright Credit: AP Photo
By Theo Farrant
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The judge determined that Tyler's accuser wasn't eligible for a two-year window to pursue claims beyond statutes of limitations because she didn't assert that Tyler's behaviour posed a “serious risk of physical injury”.

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A lawsuit filed by a woman accusing Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler of sexually assaulting her twice in 1975 when she was 17 has been dismissed by US District Judge Lewis Kaplan. 

Kaplan stated that former child model Jeanne Bellino waited too long to sue the 75-year-old rock star, as reported by the Reuters news agency.

In 1975, Aerosmith were extensively touring the US with their third album ‘Toys in the Attic’ featuring the hit song ‘Walk This Way’. At the time, a 17-year-old Bellino was at a fashion show when a friend arranged for her to meet Tyler at the Warwick Hotel in Manhattan.

Steven Tyler of the famed Aerosmith rock band gestures before boarding his waiting van upon arrival from Melbourne Sunday May 5, 2013 in Manila, Philippines.
Steven Tyler of the famed Aerosmith rock band gestures before boarding his waiting van upon arrival from Melbourne Sunday May 5, 2013 in Manila, Philippines.Credit: Bullit Marquez/AP

Bellino alleged that while walking down 6th Avenue on the way to the hotel, Tyler forced her into a phone booth where he “stuck his tongue down her throat” and groped her as others in the group “stood by outside the phone booth laughing”.

The legal documents claim that while at the hotel, Tyler pinned Bellino against a wall and sexually assaulted her as others once again watched. Tyler then went to his room and had a colleague ask for Bellino to join him, allegedly.

Bellino said she ran outside and took a taxi home, where she “began crying hysterically”.

The result of this lawsuit follows a prior one against the Aerosmith frontman, filed in 2022 by Julia Misley, who alleges that Tyler assaulted her when she was 16-years-old in 1973. The Aerosmith singer would have been 25 or 26 at the time.

Video editor • Theo Farrant

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