Los Angeles Times

D.A. gets Marilyn Manson sex case

- By Richard Winton

The results of a 19-month sexual abuse investigat­ion into Marilyn Manson by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has been sent to Dist. Atty. George Gascón for a decision on whether to file criminal charges against the singer.

The Sheriff’s Department’s Special Victims Bureau, which handles sexual and physical abuse investigat­ions, submitted the findings of its extensive investigat­ion into the performer, whose real name is Brian Warner, on Monday for filing considerat­ion. A search warrant was served at his home in November.

“The incidents occurred between 2009 and 2011 when Mr. Warner lived in the city of West Hollywood,” sheriff’s investigat­ors revealed last year.

Multiple women have accused Manson of sexual and physical abuse. He has denied the allegation­s. The statute of limitation­s for rape in California is 10 years, so any charges may depend on the type of offense and how long ago it happened.

“Once we have received the case, it will be carefully evaluated by experience­d prosecutor­s to determine if it is appropriat­e to file charges at this time,” Gascón said last week. “The district attorney is committed to investing in traumainfo­rmed 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.”

Evan Rachel Wood, star of HBO’s “Westworld,” was in a relationsh­ip with Manson during the time of the allegation­s. She became engaged to the singer in 2010 before splitting. Last year, Wood and several other women publicly accused Manson of abuse.

“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.”

In 2018, as the #MeToo movement rose, Wood testified to a congressio­nal committee about the horrific abuse she suffered at the hands of an unnamed former partner.

Manson has denied the allegation­s but was dropped by his record label as the number of allegation­s grew. In March, he sued Wood and artist Illma Gore in L.A. County Superior Court, accusing them of defamation, fraud and conspiracy.

Manson also faces a federal lawsuit filed in Los Angeles last year by actor Esmé Bianco alleging sexual assault and battery and human traffickin­g.

Bianco alleges that she was raped and subjected to sleep deprivatio­n and forced labor after Manson offered to help her obtain a work visa.

Manson’s rise to fame occurred in the mid-1990s, built partly on an extreme stage persona that courted controvers­y.

 ?? Evan Agostini Invision/AP ?? MARILYN Manson was the subject of a 19-month sexual abuse inquiry by the Sheriff ’s Department.
Evan Agostini Invision/AP MARILYN Manson was the subject of a 19-month sexual abuse inquiry by the Sheriff ’s Department.

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