Marilyn Manson won’t face charges for rape and domestic violence allegations

Marilyn Manson will not face criminal charges after a years-long investigation into allegations of rape and domestic violence made against him, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman announced Friday.

The DA’s office said in a statement that the statute of limitations had run out on the domestic violence allegations, and that prosecutors did not believe they could prove charges of sexual assault beyond a reasonable doubt. The announcement came after a four-year investigation into Manson, real name Brian Warner, conducted by the Sex Crimes Division of the DA’s office and detectives from the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department.

“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 DA’s office said. “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.”

Hochman’s office remains “fully committed to seeking justice for survivors of domestic abuse and sexual assault whenever legally possible,” the statement concluded. “We encourage anyone experiencing abuse to seek support and make a report to law enforcement as quickly as possible.”

In response to the news, Manson’s attorney Howard King said in a statement to Entertainment Weekly, “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.”

Multiple women, including Manson’s former fiancée Evan Rachel Wood and actress Esmé Bianco, have accused the shock rocker, 56, of sexual assault and abuse in recent years. He has denied all such allegations, calling them “horrible distortions of reality.”

Wood publicly alleged in 2021 that Manson groomed her as a teenager and “horrifically abused” her for years during their romantic relationship. She delved further into her allegations in the HBO documentary Phoenix Rising, asserting that Manson “essentially raped” her on the set of his “Heart-Shaped Glasses” music video. Manson sued the Westworld actress for defamation in 2022 but dropped the lawsuit last year and agreed to cover her legal fees.

Representatives for Wood didn’t immediately respond to EW’s request for comment Friday.

Bianco, best known for her work on Game of Thrones, filed a civil lawsuit against Manson in 2021 that accused him of sexual assault and human trafficking. The suit was settled in 2023.

In a statement posted to social media Friday, Bianco said she was “disappointed” by the DA’s decision not to charge Manson but “sadly not surprised.”

“Once again, our justice system has failed survivors,” Bianco wrote. “My healing and peace could not be reliant upon the outcome of a desperately broken system.” She concluded with a message to Manson: “By you dragging me through hell, I discovered the unstoppable force of my own power.”