L.A. County D.A. will not charge Marilyn Manson in rape, domestic violence cases
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Marilyn Manson will not face criminal charges in a series of sexual assault and domestic violence allegations, Los Angeles County prosecutors said Friday.
The musician, whose real name is Brian Warner, had been under investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department since 2021 after several women came forward to accuse him of rape and abuse. His accusers included “Westworld” actress Evan Rachel Wood and “Game of Thrones” actress Esme Bianco.
Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said in a statement Friday that the statute of limitations had run out on the domestic violence allegations and that prosecutors did not believe they could prove the rape charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
“We recognize and applaud the courage and resilience of the women who came forward to make reports and share their experiences, and we thank them for their cooperation and patience with the investigation,” Hochman said in a statement. “While we are unable to bring charges in this matter, we recognize that the strong advocacy of the women involved has helped bring greater awareness to the challenges faced by survivors of domestic abuse and sexual assault.”
The shock rocker’s return has sparked outrage from women who have alleged abuse and activists aghast that Manson, who has denied all allegations, is performing in arenas again.
A spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office declined to answer additional questions or say how many victims’ allegations had been considered and rejected.
An attorney for Manson, Howard King, said in a statement: “We are very pleased that, after a thorough and incredibly lengthy review of all of the actual evidence, the District Attorney has concluded what we knew and expressed from the start — Brian Warner is innocent.”
Allegations first surfaced in 2021 after Bianco sued Manson, alleging sexual assault, sexual battery and human trafficking. The two settled Bianco’s lawsuit in 2023. The same year, Manson settled a suit with an anonymous Jane Doe who also alleged rape.
In a statement to The Times, Bianco said, “Whilst I am deeply disappointed by the decision of the District Attorney to not bring charges in the case against Brian Warner, I am sadly not surprised. Within our toxic culture of victim blaming; a lack of understanding of coercive control, the complex nature of sexual assault within intimate partnerships, and statutes of limitations that do not support the realities of healing; prosecutions face an oftentimes insurmountable hurdle. Once again, our justice system has failed survivors.”
Wood, who was in a romantic relationship with Warner for years, has levied perhaps the most detailed allegations against Warner, claiming the singer first assaulted her during a simulated sex scene on a music video shoot in 2007 and then proceeded to “groom” her for years.
Rock icon Marilyn Manson dropped his lawsuit against former fiancée Evan Rachel Wood and will pay $327,000 in attorney fees. Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, sued the “Westworld” actor in March 2022 for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
A former assistant, Ashley Walters, also sued Manson, alleging harassment and assault.
L.A. County Sheriff’s Department investigators raided Manson’s mansion in 2021 and presented a case to the district attorney’s office in 2022. The allegations led Manson to cancel tours and he was dropped by his record label, a rare retreat from an artist who has courted chaos and controversy his entire career.
But years went by without a filing. Manson returned to tour. His accusers grew frustrated, with Bianco joining Hochman for a campaign news conference lambasting former Dist. Atty. George Gascón’s handling of the case last year.
“Almost four years ago, I did what victims of rape are ‘supposed’ to do — I went to the police,” Bianco said in a statement issued by Hochman’s campaign last year. “Despite a thorough investigation and hundreds of pieces of evidence being submitted to the District Attorney’s office, I am still waiting for justice. In the meantime, I have received death threats, while my abuser continues to perform publicly.”
Gascón said last October that “new evidence” had come forward in the case but did not detail what it was. The former district attorney did not respond to a request for comment Friday.
Marilyn Manson has settled with a woman who alleged the singer raped her in his L.A. home in 2011. His attorney called the settlement ‘pennies on the dollar.’
For accusers and activists pushing for a Manson prosecution, the news is “a huge disappointment,” said Caroline Heldman, who organized rallies supporting Manson accusers, including one at Manson’s recent show in Anaheim.
“Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman held a press conference with Manson survivors, and they had high hopes he’d take their claims seriously,” Heldman said. “But now it looks like he was using survivors for a publicity stunt. It’s a slap in the face and exhibit A for why the legal system doesn’t work for survivors, especially if they’re a survivor of a famous person.”
Hochman, who appeared in a downtown L.A. courtroom Friday morning to observe opening arguments in the trial of rapper ASAP Rocky, declined to address the complaints of Manson’s accusers.
“We’ll be dealing with that in due time,” he said.
Manson’s rise to fame occurred in the mid-1990s, built partly on an extreme stage persona who courted controversy and spawned albums such as “Antichrist Superstar” in 1996.
In May 2018, then-Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey declined to file charges against Manson that included rape of an unconscious person, assault with a deadly weapon and battery in connection with an Oct. 25, 2011, incident, according to records.
Ashley Morgan Smithline, whose abuse lawsuit against Marilyn Manson was dismissed last month, now says Evan Rachel Wood and others pushed her to lie.
“The victim was acquainted socially with the suspect,” wrote Deputy Dist. Atty. Darci Purvis in a heavily redacted memo that explained why charges were not filed. She cited the statute of limitations on the assault and battery and an “absence of corroboration” on the sexual assault allegation.
The sheriff’s department’s Special Victims Bureau conducted a 19-month investigation, which included serving a search warrant at the musician’s home in November 2021. In September 2022, the case was sent to prosecutors for a filing decision.
Then-D.A. Gascón said his office was “committed to investing in trauma-informed care for all victims of sexual assault, abuse, and intimate partner violence. We understand how difficult it may be to come forward as a victim, especially when the case involves this level of notoriety, and are dedicated to treating all victims with the highest level of care and respect.”
Amid criticism of his handling of the case, Dist. Atty. George Gascón announced Wednesday that he is considering ‘new evidence’ in the abuse probe.
Last year, Bianco said she had waited for more than two years for Gascón to decide whether to file criminal charges against Manson. She also said that Gascón has refused to speak with her about the case.
Wood, the “Westworld” star, was in a relationship with Manson during the time of the allegations. She became engaged to the singer in 2010 but they later split up.
“He started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years,” Wood wrote in messages posted to Instagram. “I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission. I am done living in fear of retaliation, slander, or blackmail.”
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