Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler is set for trial in August in a child sexual assault lawsuit first filed in 2022.
The lawsuit filed by Julia Misley – formerly known as Julia Holcomb – included charges of sexual assault, sexual battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Misley alleged that Tyler coerced and persuaded her into believing that their three-year relationship, which began in 1973, was a “romantic love affair.”
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She said that she hoped the lawsuit would expose the corrupt nature of the entertainment industry, and hold those who have exploited and allowed exploitation to occur accountable.
This week, a judge dismissed the majority of the lawsuit under statutes of limitations – meaning too much time had passed since the alleged crimes were committed.
Tyler and Misley lived in Massachusetts during their three-year relationship. As per the state’s statute of limitations rules, all of the charges alleged to have taken place there have now been thrown out.
But Tyler, 78, will go to trial on August 31 at Los Angeles County Superior Court on a part of the case.
The Los Angeles Times reports that California’s “lookback window” allows alleged victims to file lawsuits regardless of a statute of limitations.
Tyler allegedly crossed state lines with Misley, including to California. He was 26 at the time, while she 16. The age of consent in California was, and still is, 18.
On the news that the judge had dismissed most of the case, Tyler’s lawyer David Long-Daniels, says: “This is a massive win for Steven Tyler. Today, the Court has dismissed with prejudice 99.9% of the claims against Mr. Tyler in this case.
“The court has decided that only one night, 50-plus years ago, out of a three-year relationship is allowed to remain.”
The lawsuit alleges Misley fell pregnant with Tyler’s child and that she was pressured into having an abortion.
It also claims that Tyler wrote about their relationship in his 2011 memoir, writing: “She was 16, she knew how to nasty, and there wasn’t a hair on it … with my bad self being 26 and she barely old enough to drive and sexy as hell, I just fell madly in love with her.
“She was my heart’s desire, my partner in crimes of passion. … I was so in love I almost took a teen bride. I went and slept at her parent’s house for a couple of nights and her parent’s fell in love with me, signed paper over for me to have custody, so I wouldn’t get arrested if I took her out of state. I took her on tour with me.”