Rock icon accused of sexual assault against minor

Steven Tyler, the lead singer of iconic rock band Aerosmith, has been accused in a lawsuit of sexually abusing an underage girl in the 1970’s when he was 25 years old. According to court documents obtained by Rolling Stone, the plaintiff, Julia Holcomb, claims she was only 16 when she became the victim of sexual assault, sexual battery, and intentionally inflicted emotional distress. 

In the suit, filed under California’s Child Victims act, Holcomb alleges that Tyler convinced her mother to grant him legal guardianship over her in order to allow the singer to take the 16-year-old on tour with him and subsequently engage in a sexual relationship. The relationship supposedly began in 1973 and lasted for some three years. 

Although the lawsuit does not actually reference Tyler or anyone else by name, instead identifying the defendants as Doe 1, Doe 2, and so on, Holcomb had previously talked publicly about her relationship with the Aerosmith singer. 

The lawsuit also directly quotes Tyler’s memoir, in which he stated that he “almost took a teen bride” at one point in his life and that her parents “fell in love” with him so much that they signed a paper for him to have custody over their daughter so that he wouldn’t get arrested if he took her out on tour. 

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Holcomb alleges that she was “powerless to resist” Tyler’s “power, fame and substantial financial ability” and that he “coerced and persuaded” her into believing their relationship was a “romantic love affair.” The plaintiff further claims that the singer promised her mother he would provide better support to her than she was getting at home and would enroll her in school and give her medical care. 

Tyler “did not meaningfully follow through on these promises and instead continued to travel with, assault and provide alcohol and drugs to Plaintiff,” the lawsuit claims. 

In 1975, Holcomb claims she became pregnant with Tyler’s son but ended up getting an abortion after the singer insisted she terminate the pregnancy citing potential damage to the baby after an apartment fire. 

After the abortion Holcomb says she left Tyler and went back to Portland, where she became a devout Catholic and anti-abortion activist, burying her experiences with Tyler until he wrote about them in his 2011 memoir. 

Tyler’s legal representatives have yet to release an official statement about the lawsuit.