Just when you thought that this week in the hellscape at least probably couldn't get any worse, it has found a way: prosecutors have now decided that Marilyn Manson won't be charged following a nearly four-year investigation into the numerous sexual assault allegations against the disgraced musician born Brian Warner.
As the Associated Press reports, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman's reasoning for not prosecuting Warner was that, under the law, the allegations were too old, and there was insufficient evidence to file charges.
"We have determined that allegations of domestic violence fall outside of the statute of limitations, and we cannot prove charges of sexual assault beyond a reasonable doubt," said Hochman. "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."
UPDATE (1/24, 4:27 p.m. ET): Evan Rachel Wood has now issued a statement on the decision. "Evidence of violent crimes should not have an expiration date," the actor said [via Rolling Stone]. "I am grateful for the work law enforcement has done, and I am endlessly proud of all the survivors who risked everything to protect others by speaking the truth. We always knew that the statute of limitations would be a barrier, which is why we created the Phoenix Act — so that other victims wouldn't have to experience this outcome."
The identities of the victims prosecutors and police spoke to as part of the investigation were not revealed, but actor Esmé Bianco — whose sexual assault and trafficking lawsuit against Warner was settled in January 2023 — revealed in October had she had been interviewed multiple times by the District Attorney's office since she had come forward with her allegations. At the time, she also said she had presented "hundreds of pieces of evidence[,] including photos of my body covered in bites, bruises and knife wounds," as well as emails, text messages and threats to her immigration status.
"Whilst I am deeply disappointed by the decision of the District Attorney to not bring charges in the case against Brian Warner, I am sadly not surprised," Bianco wrote in a statement posted to Instagram in response to the prosecution's decision. "Once again, our justice system has failed survivors. Not the individual prosecutors and detectives who worked for years on this case, but the system that made them do so with one hand tied behind their collective backs."
She continued, "I know the truth of what happened to me. It sits deeply rooted in my belly, unshakable, mine. No one and nothing can take that away. And so to all the survivors reading this, who are being hit by yet another piece of stinging news and feeling hopeless or discouraged, let me remind you: you know your truth also."
Bianco is one of over a dozen women who have come forward with allegations against Warner, which were recently subject of the Channel 4 docuseries Marilyn Manson: Unmasked; an interview with Evan Rachel Wood, the actor who made the first public accusations against Warner and profiled her experience in the 2022 Amy Berg documentary Phoenix Rising, was included.
Even before Wood came forward (and Warner consequently filed his since-dropped his defamation lawsuit), she helped the Phoenix Act — a bill eventually signed in 2020 that extended the statute of limitations in domestic violence cases filed in the state California from three years to five years — get passed into law.