Marilyn Manson Sued for Sexual Assault of a Minor in the 1990s

Marilyn Manson has been sued by a woman who alleges that the musician groomed and sexually assaulted her in the 1990s when he was an adult and she was a minor. As Rolling Stone reports, thesuit  was filed by an anonymous plaintiff under the name Jane Doe and includes counts of sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. It also accuses his former record labels Interscope and Nothing of negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. It is the first lawsuit against Mason focusing on a sex crime that took place near the beginning of his career; all previous suits against Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, have alleged predatory behaviour around 2010.

According to the suit, Doe first met Manson when she was invited onto his tour bus following a show in Dallas, when she was 16. “While on the tour bus, Defendant Warner performed various acts of criminal sexual conduct upon Plaintiff, who was a virgin at the time, including but not limited to forced copulation and vaginal penetration,” the lawsuit claims. The age of consent in Texas was and is 17. “One of the band members watched Defendant Warner sexually assault Plaintiff. Plaintiff was in pain, scared, upset, humiliated and confused. After he was done, Defendant Warner laughed at her. … Then Defendant Warner demanded Plaintiff to ‘get the fuck off of my bus’ and threatened Plaintiff that, if she told anyone, he would kill her and her family.”

The lawsuit further alleges that Manson’s manager gave Doe a 1-800 number and a password to stay in contact with Manson and the band. Warner would allegedly call Doe at home and chat with her requesting explicit photos of her and her friends.

Detailing Interscope and Nothing’s role in enabling Manson’s behaviour, the suit claims: “Defendants Interscope and Nothing Records were aware of Defendant Warner’s practice of sexually assaulting minors, and aided and abetted such behavior. As a result of Brian Warner’s sexual abuse and assault, enabled and encouraged by Defendants Interscope and Nothing Records, Plaintiff has suffered severe emotional, physical, and psychological distress, including shame, and guilt, economic loss, economic capacity and emotional loss.”

Manson recently settled out of court with actress Esmé Bianco, who had accused the singer of sexual assault and sexual battery. Manson has vehemently denied all claims of abusive behavior in the past.