Marilyn Manson Avoids Charges in Sexual Assault Case, Evan Rachel Wood Releases Statement

The L.A. County District Attorney has dropped sexual battery charges against Marilyn Manson.

According to TMZ, District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced on Friday that after a four-year review, the DA’s office determined that the statute of limitations has expired in Manson’s domestic violence case. They also shared that they couldn’t prove the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt.

Hochman thanked the women for reporting the abuse, and, as the outlet writes, “feels their stories will bring more awareness to challenges faced by sexual assault and domestic violence survivors.”

In February 2021, Evan Rachel Wood accused Manson of abuse, grooming, and manipulation, which she claimed she endured throughout their years-long relationship. After she came forward, at least five other women, including Esme Bianco, followed suit that year. Among the allegations was that Manson punished women by locking them in a soundproof room in his home.

Wood issued a statement on Instagram following the DA's announcement.

“Evidence of violent crimes should not have an expiration date. 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.”

She added: “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.”

Wood referred to the California law called the Phoenix Act, which passed in 2020 and extended the statute of limitations in domestic violence cases from three to five years. Woods supported the bill, further advocating for it by testifying in front of the California State Senate in April 2019. At that time, she had publicly spoken about her experience with abuse but hadn't yet named Manson as her abuser.

As Wood pointed out in her statement, sadly, the Phoenix Act “cannot help in cases which occurred before [the law] was passed.”

The DA’s Sex Crimes Division and sheriff’s detectives launched its four-year probe into Manson in 2021, with police raiding Manson’s L.A. home that November, in which the Special Victims Unit seized media storage devices, such as hard drives.

Manson pushed back against the women’s claims and filed a fraud and defamation lawsuit against former fiancée, Wood in March 2022, which he eventually dropped this past November.