Marilyn Manson sexual assault lawsuit filed by his former assistant dismissed by judge
Ashley Walters' case was dropped due to the expiration of statute of limitations
A lawsuit filed against Marilyn Manson by his former assistant, Ashley Walters, has been dismissed due to an expired statute of limitations. Walters is one of many women who have accused Manson (whose legal name is Brian Warner) of abuse, and hers was one of multiple suits filed against him.
The case pertained to her period of employment with the artist, which occurred around August 2010 to October 2011. Walter claims to have experienced not only sexual assault and violent intimidation, but also to have witnessed abuse against other women, including Manson’s former fiancée Evan Rachel Wood.
In his ruling, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Stern wrote that Walters “has pleaded too few facts and too late to keep this case in court,” according to CBS News. “Reading the first amended complaint as a whole, (Walters) pleads that (she) was aware of the actions against her by the time she left her employment. Thus, nine to 10 years passed until the filing of the action, far beyond the two-year limitations periods of her claims.”
Walters and her lawyers had argued that she had repressed her memories of the abuse until attending a support group with other victims of Manson’s abuse in 2020. However, Stern noted that she still did not officially file her suit until 2021, and dismissed the case with prejudice (meaning Manson cannot be sued again for the same allegations), per Deadline.
“We are deeply disappointed in the court’s decision today. If allowed to stand, this decision would drastically limit the ability of victims of abuse to obtain justice through the legal system. We clearly pleaded the facts of this case in the complaint detailing the trauma and abuse Ashley endured, which prevented her from coming forward sooner,” read a statement from the law firms representing Walters, Valli Kane & Vagnini LLP and Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai LLP.
“While the court based its decision on the timeliness of Ashley’s claims and not the merits, we disagree with the court’s interpretation of the law as it applies to equitable estoppel and the delayed filing of abuse claims. We remain confident that a full review of the facts in this case will result in a successful appeal, which we plan on filing,” the statement continued.
In her own statement, Walters said, “Nobody gets to choose exactly how they process abuse or threats. I am disheartened in the court’s decision today not just for my case, but for the message it sends to other survivors out there trying to balance how they process abuse with arbitrary court deadlines. We will not let this hurdle stop us from shining a light on what happened to me and others.”
Another sexual assault lawsuit against Manson, filed anonymously by “Jane Doe,” was similarly dismissed over the statute of limitations. Game Of Thrones star Esmé Bianco still has an active suit pending against him. Meanwhile, Manson himself has filed a defamation suit against Wood for her own allegations against him. Manson has also denied all allegations of abuse and assault levied against him.