Kari Krome, a songwriter for The Runaways, has reached a conditional settlement with the estate of late music producer Kim Fowley in her lawsuit alleging sexual abuse starting in 1974 when she was 13 years old. The agreement addresses specific claims of assaults by Fowley, who died in 2015. Claims against former KROQ DJ Rodney Bingenheimer remain ongoing, with a jury trial set for March 30, 2026.
Kari Krome filed the lawsuit in December 2022, accusing Kim Fowley and Rodney Bingenheimer of grooming and sexually abusing her as a teenager. According to court filings, Fowley, then at least 35, dragged Krome into his bedroom by her ankle and assaulted her while other young members of The Runaways slept nearby. She alleged at least six more assaults over the following year, when she was 14 to 15.
Fowley, who managed The Runaways, faced similar accusations from band bassist Jackie Fuchs. In a 2015 Huffington Post article after Fowley's death at age 75, Fuchs described Fowley raping her on a motel bed while others watched; she had taken a Quaalude and felt immobilized. Krome, then 14, corroborated the account, stating she did not know what to do.
The conditional settlement with Fowley's estate resolves these specific claims against him, though details were not disclosed. A hearing is set for January 14 in probate court. Krome's lawyer declined comment on the agreement.
Meanwhile, allegations against Bingenheimer, now 78, persist. Krome claims he used his influence at Rodney Bingenheimer’s English Disco on the Sunset Strip to groom her, luring her to his apartment and assaulting her multiple times starting when she was 13 and he was 28. Bingenheimer denied wrongdoing in his February 2024 response.
Complications arose when Bingenheimer lost his lawyers over unpaid fees and relied on Brad Herman, described as a Hollywood fixer. In an amended complaint last month, Krome added Herman as a co-defendant, alleging he helped conceal assets by transferring and selling Bingenheimer's childhood home in Mountain View, California, for nearly $1.7 million in May 2025 to avoid a potential judgment. The complaint claims the transfer was intended to hinder her pursuit of damages. Herman did not respond to requests for comment.
Further, Krome alleges Herman claimed Bingenheimer was too ill for a July 2025 deposition, yet accompanied him to Brian Wilson's memorial days earlier. Bingenheimer missed the rescheduled deposition and faces over $4,000 in sanctions.
Bingenheimer continues hosting a weekly SiriusXM radio show. In a 2023 Rolling Stone interview, Go-Go’s guitarist Jane Wiedlin alleged Bingenheimer assaulted her at age 15 in 1974 at his disco. He did not respond to those claims.
Herman has faced prior accusations of elder abuse involving Stan Lee and Cindy Birdsong, though the Birdsong case was withdrawn last November.
