A lawsuit filed by Ashley Walters against Marilyn Manson has been dismissed.
Working alongside the rock musician in 2010 and 2011, his former assistant sued her boss for sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and wrongful termination in May 2021.
While a different judge dismissed the lawsuit in May 2022, the case was reinstated in December of 2023 following an appeal. Yet, on Tuesday (12.17,) Los Angeles County Judge Steve Cochran ruled that the case would again be dismissed as the timeline fell outside of the statute of limitations.
Despite the plaintiff’s attorneys arguing that their client’s alleged trauma impaired her ability to come forward, the judge insisted that he doesn’t have authority to proceed with the trial, which had been set to begin in January 2026, stating:
“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.”
While the 56-year-old rocker, born Brian Warner, has yet to publicly comment on the decision, his lawyer Howard King told Rolling Stone that the dismissal was a victory for his client, adding
“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 a statement issued to the same publication, Walters’s lawyer, Kate McFarlane, noted that she was “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.”
Not his first such incident, Manson reached out-of-court settlements with several other accusers, including actress Esmé Bianco, and dropped a long-running defamation lawsuit against former partner, Evan Rachel Wood, in November 2024.
While officers at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department investigated several abuse claims made against the musician, in January, no charges would be filed due to lack of evidence and a legal technicality.
The the controversial musician has always maintained his innocence, claiming that all of his sexual relationships have been consensual.
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Author: Al Dente
Photo: Livioandronico2013