Arts & Entertainment
Rodney On The ROQ DJ Accused Of Sexually Abusing Runaways Founder
A woman who founded the band Runaways as a minor is suing Radio personality Rodney Bingenheimer alleging he assaulted her when she was 13.
LOS ANGELES, CA — Former KROQ-FM radio personality Rodney "Rodney on the ROQ" Bingenheimer and the estate of the late record producer Kim Fowley were identified in new court papers Thursday as defendants in a lawsuit filed by Runaways co-founder Kari Krome, who alleges both sexually abused them when she was a minor.
Krome's Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit was originally filed Dec. 28 using anonymous names, but the full identifications of the parties are listed in the amended complaint brought Thursday.
Bingenheimer, known as the "Mayor of the Sunset Strip," hosted "Rodney on the ROQ" on KROQ from 1976 to 2017. Bingenheimer was also owner of a popular nightclub, Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco. Bingenheimer now hosts a radio show on Little Steven's Underground Garage channel on SiriusXM.
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Fowley was a well-known record producer, songwriter and musician. He also managed The Runaways in the 1970s and died in 2015 at age 75. Joan Jett also was a member of the Runaways, who had a hit song, "Cherry Bomb."
Representatives for Bingenheimer, 76, and Fowler could not be immediately reached.
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The suit alleges that after grooming Krome and establishing what Krome believed to be a foundation of trust, Bingenheimer sexually assaulted her for the first time in his apartment when she was only 13 years old. The alleged molestation continued for months.
Bingenheimer introduced Krome to Fowley, who co-founded the all-girl band the Runaways with Krome, the suit states.
Shortly after signing Krome to a publishing deal on her 14th birthday, Fowley sexually assaulted Krome in his Los Angeles apartment and continued to molest her about six more times over the course of the next year, the suit alleges.
"I told people about these assaults when they happened and they didn't want to hear it," Krome said. "They didn't want to hurt their careers, or they didn't want to dispel their illusions about their idols."
Krome's suit alleges sexual assault and sexual battery. She seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
City News Service
