Bob Dylan’s 1965 Tour Dates Don’t Refute Sex Abuse Allegations, Lawyer Says

On 17 August, Bob Dylan was sued in a New York court by a woman known as J.C. who alleges that he sexually abused her when she was 12 over a period of six weeks between April and May in 1965. However, Dylan's spokesperson Robert Zimmerman said that the 68-year-old woman's "claims are untrue and will be vigorously defended."

In a major twist in US folk and rock music icon Bob Dylan's sexual abuse case, the lawyer of his accuser – a woman identified as J.C. – has revealed that the musician’s tour schedule from the time does not refute his client's claims.

Lawyer Daniel Isaacs made the comments to entertainment website Page Six in response to reports that J.C.'s allegations were inconsistent with Dylan’s tour schedule. 

He said that while the musician was touring England and other places for parts of April and May — when his client claims the abuse occurred — there was still enough time for him to get back to New York where she said the incidents happened.

“Looking at the [tour] schedule — it’s not inconsistent with our client’s claims... We will prove our claims in the appropriate forum, which is in the court of law,” Isaacs told Page Six.

The woman, now 68, claims Dylan groomed her and plied her with drugs and alcohol before sexually molesting and abusing her.

Zimmerman said on Monday, “This 56-year-old claim is untrue and will be vigorously defended.”

The music icon's biographer Clinton Heylin said the alleged abuse claims were “not possible” given Dylan's touring schedule at the time in 1965, while the Huffpost also reports that J.C.’s allegations can not be true for the same reason. 

“Dylan was touring [in] England during that time, and was in Los Angeles for two of those weeks, plus a day or two at Woodstock,” Heylin said. “The tour was 10 days, but Bob flew into London on April 26 and arrived back in New York on June 3.”

According to the official Bob Dylan website, he had a concert in Berkeley, California, on 3 April, 1965; another in Vancouver on 9 April; and another in Sheffield, England, on 30 April, 1965.

“If Dylan was in New York in mid-April, it was for no more than a day or two,” Heylin told the news site.

Still, Isaacs stands by the lawsuit, saying, “There are dates that he wasn’t touring for several weeks in April and this will all come out at that appropriate time.”

“The claims were vetted before the case was filed and we did our research,” Isaacs said. “It’s our position that the evidence will establish that he was in New York during the relevant time period.”