Judge dismisses Ashley Morgan Smithline's sex-assault lawsuit against Marilyn Manson

A judge has dismissed model Ashley Morgan Smithline's 2021 federal lawsuit in which she alleged musician Marilyn Manson had assaulted her.

U.S. District Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha dismissed the lawsuit on Tuesday without prejudice, according to court documents obtained by The Times, which means Smithline can still sue Manson over the same allegations. She had fired her attorney in October and did not notify the court of a substitute by the December deadline.

Smithline filed the lawsuit in June 2021 and accused Manson, whose real name is Brian Hugh Warner, of sexually assaulting her multiple times in 2010.

During the first instance, she said in the suit that she awoke to her ankles and wrists tied behind her back with Manson penetrating her.

In a separate instance, the suit alleged that Manson put a pillow over her face and used a knife to cut her shoulder, inner arm and stomach. Other alleged assaults left Smithline with branding scars, Manson's initials carved into her and a hairline fracture to her nose, the lawsuit said.

Manson has denied Smithline’s claims, saying his relationship with her lasted less than a week in 2010. “There are so many falsehoods within her claims that we wouldn’t know where to begin to answer them,” he said in a statement in 2021 shortly after the lawsuit was filed.

Smithline is one of several women who have accused Manson of sexual assault in recent years, including actor Evan Rachel Wood, who previously dated the rock artist, as well as British-born actor Esmé Bianco, who filed a separate federal lawsuit against Manson in April 2021.

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office is also weighing whether to criminally charge Manson following a 19-month sexual abuse investigation by the county sheriff's department. The probe looked into alleged incidents involving the singer between 2009 and 2011 in West Hollywood.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.