Rodney Bingenheimer and the law: When news broke last week that Runaways songwriter Kari Krome has filed a lawsuit against both Rodney Bingenheimer and late producer Kim Fowley, public reaction was decidedly mixed.

On one hand, you had the people saying, “Surely not Rodney – the man who helped raise the profile of underground rock & roll while helping break so many bands. Say it ain’t so.”

On the other, there appears to be a decent chunk of people saying, “Well, duh! The rumors have been flying around for years, and Krome has been talking to anyone who would listen.”

That said, the court of public opinion is notoriously unreliable. Legally, and journalistically, it’s wrong to make a judgment before the literal judge. It’s absolutely possible to subscribe to that belief and fully support women, at the same time.

The lawsuit has only just been filed, the legal process is notoriously slow and so right now, in the eyes of the law, Bingenheimer is innocent until proven guilty (as is Fowley, in this case). Both Krome and Bingenheimer will have their day (or days) in court.

The lawsuit was obtained by Variety, and it reads in part: “Plaintiff, Kari Krome [legal name: Carrie Mitchell] is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, sexual battery, assault, and molestation at the hands of Defendant Rodney Bingenheimer. When Plaintiff was approximately 13 and 14 and 15 years old, Defendant Rodney Bingenheimer and Defendant Kim Fowley used their roles, status, and power as adults, as well as their connections to and work in the music industry to gain access to manipulate, exploit, and sexually assault Plaintiff in the State of California, County of Los Angeles. As a result of Defendant Rodney Bingenheimer’s and Defendant Kim Fowley’s sexual abuse and assault, Plaintiff has suffered severe emotional, physical and psychological distress, including shame, and guilt, economic loss, economic capacity and emotional loss.”

As of the time of writing, Bingenheimer and his representatives are yet to issue a response.  And we’re left wondering if another one of our heroes has, devastatingly, let us all down.

Photo licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

Rodney Bingenheimer and the law

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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