Ashley Walters to Retry Her Sexual Assault Case Against Marilyn Manson Via New California Law
Weeks after a California judge dismissed her sexual assault lawsuit against Marilyn Manson (Brian Warner) on grounds that it didn’t fall within the statute of limitations and other legal guidelines, Ashley Walters is seeking to bring her complaints back before the courts. And this time, she’s trying to use a newly instituted state law to make it stick.
Rolling Stone reports that Walters is using California law AB 250, a California state law that just went into effect on January 1, 2026, to revitalize her suit against Manson. This newly instated law established a two-year revival window from the start of 2026 until December 31, 2027 that gives adult survivors of sexual assault the chance to bring back cases that were previously dismissed over statute of limitations issues. As a result, a new hearing on Walters’ claims will take place.
This will be the Walters’ third attempt at trying to take Manson to court over her allegations that the 57-year-old musician had subjected her to sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual battery, emotional distress, and other complaints that she claims violated a number of California’s civil codes. Her first lawsuit was filed back in 2021.
According to Walters’ initial lawsuit, everything happened while she was working for Manson from August 2010 to July 2011. During that time, she said he “physically and verbally threatened” her, and would routinely fly into “drug induced fits of rage” during which the singer “threw dishes at Walters, threatened to commit suicide and even pushed her into a wall.” He was accused of encouraging friends to grope her and kiss her without her consent, and did so himself at least once.
Walters further claimed that Manson would sometimes make her stay awake for up to 48 hours without break, and once forcing her “to stand for 12 hours straight on a chair while taking pictures of him” as he “fed her cocaine to force her to stay awake.”
Additionally, Walters maintained in her lawsuit that Manson boasted that “he had gotten away with raping women” and that he “routinely” said that “he wanted to kill women he was involved with.” She also sought to corroborate allegations made by two of Manson’s former girlfriends and accusers, actors Evan Rachel Wood (Westworld) and Ésme Bianco (Game of Thrones), saying she brought food and water to the women in secret when Manson had made them afraid to leave their rooms. Walters says she once saw Manson “throw a prop skull so hard at Wood that it left a large raised welt in her stomach.”
Walters’ initial case against Manson was dismissed in May 2022, but was later appealed back in December 2023. That appeal attempt, however, fell apart when Los Angeles County Judge Steve Cochran dismissed the case yet again, this time citing concerns over the statute of limitations and the fact that Walters’ complaint stemmed from previously “suppressed” memories that came back to her years later.
At that time, Walters said the following about their decision to dismiss the appeal:
“We have a situation where the complaint was not filed until about 10 years after the operative events. I’m not able to find that the delayed discovery rule is applicable. I don’t have the authority to rule that the delayed discovery doctrine would apply under the circumstances that exist in this case.”
Under California law, the “delayed discovery rule” referenced by Cochran is a guideline that basically allows the 10-year statute of limitations to be paused if a plaintiff doesn’t immediately realize or discover that a person’s negligence or wrong-doing actually caused them injury or harm at the time. For example, if someone was exposed to a toxic substance at work but only began showing signs of an illness as a result outside of the normal statute of limitations, they could still sue that employer for damages.
In order for the “delayed discovery rule” to apply, the plaintiff must be initially unaware of the injury, what caused the injury, or that hte injury was caused by someone’s wrongful act at the time it occurred. They must also be able to plead the when and how they discovered they were harmed and they have to show they couldn’t have discovered the problem at an earlier date.
In the wake of this latest development, Manson’s lawyer Howard King responded to the filing, telling Rolling Stone that this was again predicated on what he described as a “meritless claim.”
“Ashley Walters‘ meritless claim has now been dismissed twice. We are confident that her motion to reconsider the most recent dismissal based on a new and inapplicable statute will fail.”
Conversely, Walters’ legal team at Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai told Rolling Stone that they had to wait until January 1 of this year to use this tactic, since the law wasn’t in place until then.
“This law did not become effective until Jan. 1, 2026, and could not have been raised prior to its effective date. This is a ridiculous argument, and just another tactic by Mr. Warner to skirt accountability. Ms. Walters has waited far too long to hold her abuser accountable, and outdated statute of limitations arguments will no longer protect him. We are grateful that the judge granted our request today to set a hearing on this issue. We are optimistic that her case will go forward and she will get the justice she rightfully deserves.”
