Prosecutor to 'review' Marilyn Manson rape allegations after victim calls DA out weeks before election
Los Angeles investigators have "new evidence" in recent weeks against industrial rock singer Marilyn Manson in connection with rape allegations from a former "Game of Thrones" actress who first accused him of wrongdoing in 2021.
They are "carefully reviewing new leads and additional evidence," District Attorney George Gascon said in a statement.
But news of a revived investigation came only after Manson accuser Esme Bianco, who played Ros on "Game of Thrones," went public with allegations that the embattled prosecutor had "mishandled" her allegations from the start.
"Gascon isn’t stupid. He knows he’s trailing in the polls badly, and he’s likely going to lose in a few weeks," said Neama Rahmani, a Los Angeles-based trial attorney and former federal prosecutor. "That’s why he’s talking about high-profile cases like Manson and the Menendez brothers now, even though he’s been sitting on the evidence for years."
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Bianco sued Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, in 2021, alleging violent sexual assault, trafficking and abuse. Through an attorney, the 55-year-old rock star denied the allegations as "provably false," and they settled out of court last year.
During her rally outside Gascon's office last week, she accused Gascon of sitting on the case for two years without making a decision on whether to file charges, and she endorsed the independent candidate running against him in next month's election, Nathan Hochman.
"Almost four years ago, I did what victims of rape are ‘supposed’ to do: I went to the police," she said. "I described in agonizing detail how the musician Brian Warner, better known as Marilyn Manson, raped and abused me during our relationship. Despite a thorough investigation and hundreds of pieces of evidence being submitted to the district attorney's office, I am still waiting for justice. In the meantime, I have received death threats, while my abuser continues to perform publicly."
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Gascon countered by claiming to have received new evidence in the case, although critics have questioned the timing as Election Day approaches, and he faces criticism from crime victims, law enforcement and dozens of whistleblowers in his own office, who have endorsed Hochman in the upcoming election.
"Experienced prosecutors from our office’s Sex Crimes Division are carefully reviewing new leads and additional evidence that continue to come to our attention from the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department’s investigation," Gascon said. "New evidence has emerged within the last few weeks, adding to an already extensive case file presented to our office by the LASD."
The DA said he had not yet made a decision on whether the new evidence was enough to file charges.
While he said senior staff members in his office have met with Bianco and other accusers, "it would be inappropriate" for him to meet with them himself.
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"I have received requests from victims to meet personally to discuss the case. However, as the case is being investigated, it would be inappropriate for me, as district attorney, to meet with victims during this time," he said. "We anticipate making a filing decision soon and will provide an update when that time comes. At that time, I look forward to meeting with the victims to discuss how my office can continue to support them."
Current and former prosecutors from within and outside Gascon's office said his line of reasoning about communicating with a victim is untrue.
"I represent rape victims and have personally met with deputy district attorneys in the L.A. County DA’s Office about rape investigations, so that statement is not true," Rahmani told Fox News Digital.
John Lewin, a major case prosecutor in the LADA's office, said if Gascon honestly believed that by meeting with the victims he would somehow jeopardize his ethical position, he could just recuse himself from being involved in the charging decision.
"The idea that it is unethical for the DA to meet with a victim is absurd," he said. "We meet with victims all the time."
Manson has also been accused of sexual and physical abuse by actress Evan Rachel Wood, his former fiancée, as well as other women, including one who was 16 at the time of her alleged assault. Some of the claims have already been tossed out in court.
His legal troubles also led to a 20-hour sentence of community service in New Hampshire after he allegedly blew his nose on a videographer.
Critics of Gascon say there are also thousands of lower-profile cases involving women in similar abuse cases that haven't attracted media attention.
"Thousands of cases have not even been reviewed because Gascon does not know how to manage an office as large as the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office," said Hochman, a former U.S. assistant attorney general. "Hundreds of women who have been victims of unspeakable crimes have not had their day in court because of Mr. Gascon."