Kim Fowley’s estate sued for sexual assault of a minor by The Runaways’ Kari Krome
Kari Krome of The Runaways has opened a lawsuit against Kim Fowley’s estate and club owner/DJ Rodney Bingenheimer for the sexual assault of a minor, claiming that they groomed and abused her.
Talking to Rolling Stone, the musician, born Cari Lee Mitchell, explained: “You can come to a conclusion or think that something isn’t right, but if you’re speaking on something too soon, a lot of times you’ll get nothing but blowback, and you have to wait until the time is right.”
“I never shut up about it. Just nobody wanted to hear it. Nobody seemed to care. We’re still looking at these characters through a lens of glamorisation of that era and that scene instead of looking at them through a lens of doing things that are criminal.”
Fowley, who died in 2015, was accused of sexual assault that same year by one of Mitchell’s bandmates, Jackie Fuchs, who claimed that he drugged and raped her.
Variety has obtained Mitchell’s lawsuit, which reads: “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.”
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