Shock rocker Marilyn Manson’s racy stage antics have landed him a charge of criminal sexual conduct in Oakland County, Mich. Manson allegedly approached a 25-year-old security guard from behind while masturbating during a July 30 concert at DTE Energy Theater in Clarkston, a Detroit suburb. The rocker spit on the guard, wrapped his legs around the man’s head and neck and gyrated against him, said prosecutor David Gorcyca.
Gorcyca said his office issued a warrant last Thursday for Manson, 32, but they were unable to immediately contact the performer, who was touring in Japan, or his representatives. The warrant had been delayed while investigators interviewed witnesses, Gorcyca said. Repeated messages left with Manson’s publicist were not returned.
The fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct charge is a felony carrying up to two years in prison. Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, also faces one count of misdemeanor assault and battery.
“It was definitely offensive conduct,” the prosecutor said. “It’s one thing to shock the audience by some kind of behavior, it’s another to involve an unwilling participant who was there to protect him.”
Manson is now on tour in Europe and will perform Wednesday (Aug. 22) at the Ilha Do Ermal festival in Vieira Do Minho, Portugal. Earlier this summer, protesters in Denver failed to deter Manson from taking the stage as part of the Ozzfest tour stop in the city. Citizens for Peace and Respect said Manson encourages the kind of violent attitudes that led to the 1999 Columbine High School shootings near the area.
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