Judge Dismisses Sexual Assault and Battery Lawsuit Filed By Ex-Marilyn Manson Assistant
A sexual assualt and battery lawsuit filed against Marilyn Manson by his former assistant Ashley Walters four years ago has just been dismissed by a Los Angeles judge. The decision removes yet another legal albatross dangling from his neck as he tries to revitalize his career.
Los Angeles County Judge Steve Cochran’s ruling, initially reported on by Rolling Stone, found that Walters’ complaint did not fall within the statute of limitations, nor could it be redressed based on a claim that her recollection of the alleged offending events had been suppressed.
“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.
To that end, Walter’s lawyer Kate McFarlane told Rolling Stone that they would be exploring the possibility of an appeal.
“We’re disappointed. We think this is the wrong decision. The delayed discovery rule is specifically to address situations where victims of sexual abuse deserve the ability to seek justice when their abuser has used tactics to prevent them from coming forward. This is something we see time and time again, and it seems the law hasn’t caught up to the science and what’s right for victims. But I don’t believe this is the end of the road.”
This is the second time Walters’ lawsuit was dismissed, with the first dismissal occurring back in May 2022. The ruling was overturned on appeal.
During the morning hearing on the matter, McFarlane stated that Walters’ claims should be revived because the abuse she allegedly suffered under Manson was similar to child sexual abuse cases where the power dynamic was heavily skewed in the attacker’s favor.
“We have a young woman who was in her twenties, and her employer was in his forties. There’s an innate power dynamic. He’s very well-known, high-powered celebrity with a lot of pull in the industry, a lot of clout. This was a young women barely into her adult years being manipulated by someone with a lot of power.”
According to Walters’ initial lawsuit, Manson “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.”
Following the judge’s ruling, Manson’s lawyer Howard King described the decision as the right thing for his client.
“It’s gratifying, after all these years, that a judge can just look at the facts and see that once again, Brian Warner was wrongfully accused. It’s nice for him to get some justice, though it was at great personal cost. Now he can move on.”
In the years since he was accused by several women back in February 2021 of various forms of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, Manson has been able to either reach out-of-court settlements or have other lawsuits dropped.
