LOS ANGELES — A 19-month sexual abuse investigation into Marilyn Manson by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has been sent to District Attorney 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 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 initially last year. Multiple women have accused Manson of sexual and physical abuse. He has repeatedly 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 trauma-informed 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 in Los Angeles alleging sexual assault and battery and human trafficking. The suit was filed last year by actor Esmé Bianco.
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 and spawned albums such as “Antichrist Superstar” in 1996.
