Marilyn Manson will not face criminal charges in Los Angeles related to the domestic violence and sexual assault allegations that have been leveled against him.
District Attorney Nathan Hochman said that after a four-year investigation, prosecutors had determined that the domestic abuse allegations against Manson (real name Brian Warner) fell outside the statute of limitations, and that the sexual assault charges could not be proven 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,” the statement from the DA’s office read. “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.”
Evan Rachel Wood, one of the first people to publicly accuse Manson said she was “endlessly proud of all the survivors who risked everything to protect others by speaking the truth.” She also addressed the decision to not pursue the domestic abuse claims because they fell outside the statute of limitations; Wood was a prominent supporter of California’s Phoenix Act, which extended that statute from three to five years, but the law does not apply to cases that predate its passage.
“We always knew that the statute of limitations would be a barrier, which is why we created the Phoenix Act — so that other victims wouldn’t have to experience this outcome,” Wood said, adding: “I hope this shines a light on why it’s so important to advocate for better laws.”
Warner’s lawyer, Howard King, issued a statement saying, “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.”
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As detailed in a 2021 Rolling Stone exposé, more than a dozen women have come forward with allegations of abuse against Warner, including Wood, actress Esmé Bianco, model Ashley Morgan, and Warner’s former personal assistant, Ashley Walters. Warner has repeatedly denied the accusations against him.
In a statement, Bianco said she was “deeply disappointed” by the decision not to charge Warner, but “sadly not surprised.”
She continued: “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. Not the individual prosecutors and detectives who worked for years on this case, but the system that made them do so with one hand tied behind their collective backs. Seven years ago when I was faced for the first time with that failure, it set me out on a journey of advocacy and activism, but with that came a very clear directive. My healing and peace could not be reliant upon the outcome of a desperately broken system.”
Bianco went on to address Warner directly saying, “By you dragging me through hell, I discovered the unstoppable force of my own power. I learnt how strong, and brave and bold I really am. I emerged as a Phoenix from the ashes that you left of my life. You also know the truth, and may you endeavor to find peace with that.”
In Nov. 2021, not long after the publication of that Rolling Stone story, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department raided Warner’s home, searching for belongings connected to sexual assault allegations made against him between 2009 and 2011. Nearly a year later, the Sheriff’s Department finally submitted the findings of its 19-month investigation to the district attorney’s office.
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Over the next couple of years, Warner was hit with a variety of civil suits (some were settled, some were dismissed, and others remain ongoing). But the criminal probe against him saw few public developments.
Last fall, the case became a minor flashpoint in the DA’s race between Hochman and his predecessor, George Gascón. At a press conference in early October, Bianco appeared alongside Hochman at a press conference where she told reporters she felt “ignored” by Gascón after reporting her alleged race to police. Hochman criticized Gascón for allegedly denying “hundreds of women” their “day in court.” Not long after, Gascón said that prosecutors were assessing “new leads and additional evidence” related to the Warner investigation.
