No Criminal Charges for Marilyn Manson as L.A. County District Attorney Drops Investigation
After four years’ worth of investigations into allegations of domestic violence and sexual assault levied against Marilyn Manson (real name Brian Warner), it turns out the embattled shock rocker won’t face any criminal charges after all. That’s all due to the fact that Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman decided the statute of limitations had expired and that there wasn’t enough evidence to land a conviction.
Details of the decision were first reported by Billboard. Their story included portions of a statement from Hochman, who was only just elected to the position this past November, in which he thanked the women who stepped forward for their “courage and resilience”.
“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. 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. We also acknowledge and commend them for making an important contribution to extending the statute of limitations for the prosecution of domestic abuse locally and throughout the nation. Due to their efforts, victims of domestic violence have a greater voice in our criminal justice system and prosecutorial offices around the country have improved tools to hold domestic violence abusers accountable for their actions.”
Though Manson had faced numerous allegations from a range of women over the years, this specific case dates back to 2021 when Los Angeles County detectives raided the musician’s West Hollywood home. At the time, the identities of all the women involved in the criminal case were kept secret, though it was eventually revealed that one of the accusers was Game of Thrones actress Esmé Bianco.
As Billboard points out, the previous District Attorney George Gascón announced last October that “new evidence has emerged within the last few weeks” that would be added to the huge case file they’d already collected over the years. However, Hochman was eventually elected and now here we are just a few short months later.
In the wake of the D.A.’s decision, Manson’s attorney Howard King provided a statement to Billboard, praising Hochman’s decision.
“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.”
Despite this revelation, Manson still has some legal battles ongoing, though the number of accusations against him in the court of law is significantly reduced. This news just comes days after he announced a new headlining tour in support of his 2024 comeback album One Assassination Under God – Chapter 1.
