A California judge has revived an ex-assistant’s sexual assault lawsuit against the musician Marilyn Manson, reversing his own dismissal of the case last month after concluding that a newly enacted state law applies.
“I looked at this closely,” Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Steve Cochran said at a Monday morning hearing. “I do think the statute revives the claim. You’re [heading toward trial] all over again.”
Judge Cochran vacated his Dec. 16 dismissal of the long-running case and granted the former assistant, Ashley Walters, the right to re-file her complaint using the new law, known as AB 250. He set a follow-up hearing for March 27. Manson’s lawyer, Howard King, told Rolling Stone after the hearing that the rocker, whose legal name is Brian Warner, would appeal.
“Ashley Walters has been given the right to pursue a narrow claim of sexual assault under the newly enacted law, a claim that will not survive the next motion for summary judgment,” King says in a statement. “The undeniable fact is that Mr. Warner never committed any sexual assault.”
Walters’ lawsuit has been working its way through the courts for several years. A different judge dismissed it as untimely in May 2022, but an appellate panel later revived it, giving Walters a chance to prove that trauma-induced memory suppression delayed her filing. When Judge Cochran dismissed the case again last month, he found that she failed to make that showing. Under AB 250, which was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October, adult survivors of alleged sexual assault have a new two-year lookback window to bring claims that would otherwise be barred by the statute of limitations.
In filings ahead of the Monday hearing, Warner’s lawyers argued that Walters missed her chance to invoke AB 250. They also claimed the new law only revives allegations of sexual assault that would qualify as crimes under California’s penal code. They claim Walters’ allegations fall short of that standard.
“That’s an insane argument,” Kate McFarlane with the firm Hadsel, Stormer, Renick & Dai tells Rolling Stone after the hearing. “It’s a desperate attempt by the defense to avoid accountability. The law is very clearly in our favor.”
Walters first sued Warner in 2021. She alleged that in 2010, after the musician contacted her on social media to compliment her photography, he invited her to his home studio to discuss a possible collaboration. According to the lawsuit, he pushed her onto a bed, pinned her arms, tried to kiss her, bit her ear, and forced her hand into his underwear. She said she moved away and left the location.
Walters later accepted a job as Warner’s assistant, the lawsuit says. During that period, she alleges, he subjected her to physical and emotional abuse, including whipping her, throwing plates at her, forcing her to stand on a chair for extended periods, and throwing her into a wall during what she described as drug-fueled rages.
Under California criminal law, a sexual battery includes forcing someone who is unlawfully restrained to touch an intimate part of another person for sexual gratification. McFarlane argued Monday that Walters’ allegations met that penal code definition. She said AB 250 also permits Walters to revive related claims of sexual harassment and wrongful termination.
Judge Cochran signaled Monday he would allow Warner to file a new summary judgment motion to challenge the viability of Walters’ claims under AB 250. Walters’ lawyers had asked him to treat the issue as settled and move directly to trial, but the judge said the case would essentially reset to the phase just after discovery.
In her lawsuit, Walters alleges that beyond her purported direct abuse at the hands of Warner, she also purportedly witnessed the musician throw a prop skull at his former fiancée, Evan Rachel Wood, “so hard” that it allegedly left “a large, raised welt on her stomach.” She claims she also would sneak food and drinks to Warner’s “starving and distraught” girlfriends while they hid in a guest bathroom. Warner has denied the allegations.
Walters first stepped forward in February 2021 as multiple women, including Wood, accused Warner of physical and emotional abuse. Rolling Stone conducted a lengthy investigation in 2021, speaking with more than 55 sources about the allegations. Warner, 57, reached out-of-court settlements with two of his accusers, including actress Esmé Bianco. He previously decided to abandon claims of defamation and harassment that he filed against Wood.
Nicolas Gerardin
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