Marilyn Manson: US judge reopens sexual assault case against musician | Marilyn Manson

A Los Angeles judge has reinstated a lawsuit against heavy metal star Marilyn Manson under a new law that allows old sexual assault cases to be heard in court.

The lawsuit, filed in May 2021 by a former assistant to the musician, was dismissed in December because it exceeded the statute of limitations, which is the maximum time period for initiating legal proceedings after the relevant events occur.

But prosecutor Ashley Walters asked the court to reconsider her case in January, when a new law imposed a two-year period for hearing sexual assault cases that had already expired under the law.

The lawsuit was accepted by the same Los Angeles Superior Court judge who dismissed it the previous month.

“I’ve looked at this very closely,” Judge Steve Cochran said at Monday’s hearing. “I think the law revives the claim.”

Walters claims the rocker sexually assaulted her while she was working at Manson Records between 2010 and 2011.

She also claims Manson, whose real name is Brian Hugh Warner, bragged about raping women and showed her a video in which he was abusing an underage girl.

Manson’s lawyer, Howard King, said the lawsuit would fail.

“While Ms. Walters has made several now unrelated allegations of so-called workplace harassment, she has no outstanding claims for sexual assault as defined in the Penal Code, as required under the new law, and is not permitted under the ruling to add new claims,” ​​King said in a statement sent to AFP on Tuesday.

He added: “The undeniable fact is that Mr. Warner committed no sexual assault whatsoever.”

Several women have accused Manson, 57, of sexual assault and assault over the years, including Game of Thrones actor Esme Bianco and Westworld actor Evan Rachel Wood.

Bianco sued Manson in a settled case, while Manson sued Wood for defamation, accusing her and another woman of fabricating accusations against him and convincing others to do the same. The judge then dismissed large portions of the lawsuit, before Manson agreed to dismiss it and pay Wood’s attorney fees.

One of the cases against Manson, alleging sexual assault and domestic violence between 2009 and 2011, was dismissed in January 2025 after a years-long investigation, again because it fell outside the statute of limitations.

Last year, the first UK concert of the One Assassination Under God Tour was canceled after pressure from campaign groups and an MP.