Steven Tyler Says He Remains 'Confident' After New Judge Takes Over Sexual Assault Case

Steven Tyler will face a new judge as his sexual assault case moves forward.

The Aerosmith frontman, 78, remains "confident" as he continues to deny the allegations against him.

Lawrence Riff, the supervising judge of the civil division at the Los Angeles Superior Court, has taken over the case.

This comes after Judge Patricia A. Young recused herself less than two weeks before the trial.

Tyler's legal team believes the change will have little effect on the case, a source told Page Six.

The source described Riff as "fair and well-educated" and said Tyler is "confident" that the facts will work in his favor.

Tyler was sued in December 2022 over allegations of sexual assault, sexual battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Most of those claims were later dismissed because some of the allegations occurred outside California and others were considered barred by the statute of limitations.

The lawsuit now centers on the claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress from an alleged 1974 incident in Los Angeles.

Julia Misley, formerly Julia Holcomb, accused Tyler of dragging her naked through a hotel to a pool area before having s-- with her in a public hot tub when she was 16.

The rockstar has denied wrongdoing and maintained that his relationship with Misley was consensual throughout the several years they were together.

He has also said that Misley's parents gave him permission to take her on the road.

Tyler's position has remained unchanged as the case continues.

"It's simply unfair for this to be opened after more than 50 years," another source told Page Six.

The source also claimed that Tyler and Misley remained together after the alleged incident and later became engaged.

"They were in love," the source added. "None of this was unusual at the time."

Both Tyler and Misley are expected back in court in November.

When the previous judge threw out most of the claims against Tyler in August, she also limited what Misley could present in court.

This included evidence about her abortion and sexual contact with Tyler after she turned 18.

However, she was allowed to present evidence alleging that Tyler provided her with drugs and alcohol while she was underage.

The judge also said that claims comparing Tyler to a s-- trafficker would not be allowed in court.

The same rule applied to Misley's claim that what happened between her and Tyler was like the Holocaust.