Marilyn Manson's human trafficking and second sexual abuse case has been dismissed

Earlier this week, per Consequence of Sound a report was published dismissing Marliyn Manson's second lawsuit for sexual assault, harassment, abuse, human trafficking, and threatening witnesses. Ashley Morgan Smithline accused Manson, aka Brian Warner, of sexual assault, human trafficking, and unlawful imprisonment.

After Smithline's attorney, Jay Ellwanger resigned in October, Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha gave Smithline a 90-day window to hire a new attorney. Due to her failure to comply by December 5th, Aenlle-Rocha dismissed her case without prejudice. This follows the report of Ashley Walters' case filed last year for "sexual assault, battery, and harassment", which was thrown out by the court.

In that case, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Stern dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that Walters had waited too long to file the lawsuit and failed to prove that the statute of limitations should be waived. In addition to investigating the LA County Sheriff's office, allegations by over a dozen accusers, lawsuits, countersuits by Manson, and Evan Rachel Wood's bombshell documentary on Manson's former partner Evan Rachel Wood - Phoenix Rising - which premiered on HBO on March 15, 2022.

Manson's countersuits continue. Below is Manson's attorney's comment on the Smithline dismissal.

We thank and commend Ashley Smithline for dismissing her claims against Brian Warner without seeking or receiving anything in return," Manson's attorney Howard King wrote in a statement. "Ms. Smithline has refused to be manipulated by others who are trying to pursue their own agendas against Mr. Warner. We wish her well and will continue to work to assure that a significant price will be paid by those who have tried to abuse our legal system.

A representative for Manson wrote in a statement to Consequence that bizarre Instagram messages between Smithline and Ellwanger led Manson's counsel to believe that Smithline "was manipulated into fabricating lies" about the shock rocker. According to court documents, these messages implied that Ellwanger had, unbeknownst to Smithline, lied about her whereabouts in order to postpone their deposition. The messages also indicated that Smithline fired Ellwanger in April 2022, despite his continued communication with Manson's counsel afterwards.

After accusations from Manson's ex-partner Evan Rachel Wood, Smithline publicly accused Manson of abuse in May 2021 in a People magazine cover story. Esmé Bianco, the Game of Thrones actress who filed a similar lawsuit against Manson one month earlier, is still represented by Ellwanger. All allegations have been denied by Manson, and he has sued Wood for defamation.

In February 2022, the judge rejected Walters' previously dismissed case after determining that Walters had not presented enough evidence to overcome the statute of limitations. He allowed Walters to file an amended complaint to be heard again, which has now been dismissed. The  amended lawsuit added she was not able to participate in actor Evan Rachel Wood's new documentary Phoenix Rising due to "a constant state of fear of retribution and retaliation." Manson's lawyers also sought to have Walters's case dismissed earlier this year due to the statute of limitations. "The plaintiff has pleaded too few facts and too late to keep this case alive," Stern wrote in his ruling.

Valli Kane & Vagnini LLP and Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai LLP, who represent Walters, shared the following with CBS:

We are deeply disappointed in the court's decision today. If allowed to stand, this decision would drastically limit the ability of victims of abuse to obtain justice through the legal system. We clearly pleaded the facts of this case in the complaint detailing the trauma and abuse Ashley endured, which prevented her from coming forward sooner.

While the court based its decision on the timeliness of Ashley's claims and not the merits, we disagree with the court's interpretation of the law as it applies to equitable estoppel and the delayed filing of abuse claims. We remain confident that a full review of the facts in this case will result in a successful appeal, which we plan on filing.

Walters herself shared a statement as well:

Nobody gets to choose exactly how they process abuse or threats. I am disheartened in the court's decision today not just for my case, but for the message it sends to other survivors out there trying to balance how they process abuse with arbitrary court deadlines. We will not let this hurdle stop us from shining a light on what happened to me and others