Marilyn Manson sexual assault lawsuit filed by former assistant dismissed

nme.com:

Content warning: This story contains discussion and description of claims of sexual assault.A civil lawsuit filed by a woman who worked as a personal assistant for Marilyn Manson, has been dismissed.A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ended the case over the statute of limitations, which expired after two years from the alleged crimes, reports Rolling Stone.Ashley Walters’ initial suit against the vocalist, whose real name is Brian Warner, alleged sexual assault, sexual battery, sexual harassment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other claims.

She had initially named Warner’s label, Marilyn Manson Records, Inc., as a co-defendant.Manson has denied all allegations levelled at him by Walters, claiming that she and other accusers were “cynically and dishonestly seeking to monetise and exploit the #MeToo movement” by launching a “coordinated attack against him”.“The plaintiff has pleaded too few facts and too late to keep this case in court,” Judge Michael Stern said.“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 claimed Manson approached her in March 2010 to compliment her photography.

They later met up when Manson allegedly asked her to undress for photos, eventually forcing her hand into his underwear, Walters claimed in the suit.Though Walters left that first meeting with Manson “feeling confusion and fear”, the lawsuit said she “also felt excitement about their creative connection and similar artistic interests”, and “made the decision to… ignore the traumatizing.