Marilyn Manson cleared of sexual assault charges - accuser Evan Rachel Wood responds

Prosecutors have said that they will not file charges against shock rocker Marilyn Manson after a years-long investigation of allegations of sexual assault and domestic violence.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said the allegations are too old under the law and the evidence is not sufficient to charge the 56-year-old artist whose legal name is Brian Warner.

“We have determined that allegations of domestic violence fall outside of the statute of limitations, and we cannot prove charges of sexual assault beyond a reasonable doubt,” Hochman said. “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.”

Nearly four years after the investigation began, then-District Attorney George Gascón said on 9 October that his office was pursuing new leads that added to the “already extensive” file that authorities had amassed.

LA County sheriff’s detectives said early in 2021 that they were investigating Manson for incidents between 2009 and 2011 in West Hollywood, where Manson lived at the time. The probe included a search warrant that was served on his West Hollywood home.

The case was initially turned over to prosecutors in September 2021, but the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office requested more evidence-gathering and the investigation resumed.

“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,” his attorney, Howard King, said in a statement.

The identities of the women police and prosecutors spoke to were not revealed, but Game of Thrones actress Esmé Bianco — who sued Manson in a case that has been settled — said she was part of the criminal investigation. Before the decision not to prosecute, she criticized how long the process was taking at a rally for Hochman, who was elected soon after.

“Almost four years ago, I did what victims of rape are supposed to do: I went to the police,” she said on 10 October. “I described to them in agonizing detail how the rock musician Brian Warner — better known by his stage name Marilyn Manson — had raped and abused me over the course of our relationship.”

Bianco said she gave investigators “hundreds of pieces of evidence, including photos of my body covered in bites, bruises and knife wounds, emails and text messages, threats to my immigration status.”

In her lawsuit, Bianco alleged sexual, physical and emotional abuse, and said that Manson violated human trafficking law by bringing her to California from England for non-existent roles in music videos and movies.

“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,” Bianco said in a statement released by her lawyer. “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.”

In 2021 Manson's former fiancée, Westworld actress Evan Rachel Wood, named him as her abuser for the first time in an Instagram post.

Wood and Manson’s relationship became public in 2007 when he was 38 and she was 19, and they were briefly engaged in 2010 before breaking up.

“He started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years,” Wood said.

Manson replied on Instagram that these were “horrible distortions of reality.” He sued Wood, saying she and another woman fabricated accusations against him and convinced others to do the same. A judge threw out significant sections of the suit, then in November, Manson agreed to drop it and pay Wood's attorney fees.

Wood released a statement saying she is “grateful” for authorities’ four-year investigation into the matter and “endlessly proud” of the more than dozen survivors who have spoken up, adding that the case’s resolution is “evidence” that “violent crimes should not have an expiration date.” 

“My lawyer and I were advised by the Deputy District Attorneys and the Sheriff deputies who investigated the case that there was compelling evidence to support our claims, but that the statute of limitations prevents many of those crimes from being prosecuted,” Wood wrote on her private Instagram. “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.” 

The Phoenix Act came from a collaboration with former California assembly member Eduardo Garcia and Sen. Susan Rubio, and was passed unanimously in 2020 to extend the statute of limitations in domestic violence cases to five years.  

Wood testified in front of the State Senate in April 2019 to support the bill. 

“Unfortunately, the Phoenix Act cannot help in cases which occurred before it was passed, but I hope this shines a light on why it’s so important to advocate for better laws,” Wood stated. “Evidence of violent crimes should not have an expiration date. I am grateful for the work law enforcement has done, and I am endlessly proud of all the survivors who risked everything to protect others by speaking the truth.”