A “Game of Thrones” actor who has accused Marilyn Manson of rape denounced District Attorney George Gascón on Thursday for waiting more than two years to act on her case.
Esme Bianco came forward in 2021, alleging that Manson — whose real name is Brian Warner — raped her and subjected her to violent abuse, including whipping and cutting her and forcing her to take drugs.
Bianco filed a lawsuit and also reported the allegations to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which forwarded its investigation to the D.A’s office in September 2022. At a press conference on Thursday, Bianco said she has been waiting since then for a decision on whether to file charges.
“Despite a thorough investigation and hundreds of pieces of evidence being submitted to the District Attorney’s office, I am still waiting for justice,” she said in a statement. “In the meantime, I have received death threats, while my abuser continues to perform publicly.”
Manson is due to release a new album, “One Assassination Under God,” on Nov. 22, and is currently on tour. He and his lawyers have repeatedly denied the allegations from Bianco and other women who came forward with similar allegations three years ago.
Bianco appeared at the press conference with Nathan Hochman, whom she is supporting to defeat Gascón in the Nov. 5 election. Hochman, who holds a wide lead in the polls, said the Manson case is one of thousands that have not been reviewed, and said that Gascón has been “catastrophically incompetent” on the issue.
“Hundreds of women who have been victims of unspeakable crimes have not had their day in court because of Mr. Gascón,” Hochman said.
Hochman has not said whether he would file charges against Manson.
Manson’s is now the latest celebrity case to become a political controversy in the D.A.’s race. On Tuesday, Hochman attacked Gascón’s handling of the Menendez brothers case, which has been subject of a Netflix series and two recent documentaries.
Gascón held a press conference last week to announce he is considering a request to free the brothers, who have served 34 years for murdering their parents. Hochman charged at a debate that the timing of the announcement was “suspicious,” and said that Gascón was seeking to divert attention from his failures in office.
Gascón’s office offered an update on the Manson case on Wednesday night, saying prosecutors are pursuing “new leads and additional evidence.”
“New evidence has emerged within the last few weeks, adding to an already extensive case file presented to our office by the LASD,” Gascón said. “It is our office’s responsibility to ensure that we have a complete picture of the admissible evidence available before making a filing decision.”
Gascón said a filing decision will be made “soon.”
In response, Bianco said that Gascón belatedly announced the update only because he knew she would be appearing with Hochman at the press conference.
“This speaks volumes to where his priorities truly lie,” she said. “Because I am not the only survivor waiting for answers, with a backlog of hundreds of cases sitting in limbo at the District Attorney’s office. While I have the privilege of media attention, many survivors do not. We will be ignored no longer. Justice delayed is justice denied and survivors deserve better.”
Bianco and Manson settled her lawsuit in January 2023.
From Variety US