A recent post in the r/industrial music subreddit, "It's time for the industrial scene to stop protecting Jim Marcus," accused me of abusing "Jane," a former partner of mine. If you read this thread and thought “Well, this seems like a reasonable discussion,” I am concerned for you.

This is not the first time accusations of this type have been leveled against me. For years now, a couple of people who were at one point friends of mine, but who feel that I've disrespected them either personally or professionally, have been responsible for circulating allegations that I am a serial abuser and a sexual predator via anonymous emails and social media posts like this one. Each time, they choose different account handles and secret names to do it. They claim that such anonymity is necessary  because of my alleged social authority and influence in the industrial music scene. I am actually an extremely minor public figure and do not have any such power or authority, in the music scene or elsewhere. This allows these accusations to pop up again every time I try to play a show or have a birthday, looking like there are new accusers.

In the comments to the Reddit post, one of these people, who uses the handles "hell_generator" and "whitlash" among others, told a number of truly disgusting lies about me, encouraging a massive display of outrage in the comments section that included more of their phony accounts as well as a few real people enlisted to participate in this campaign of character assassination and some people who have never been in the same room with me responding that “it seems right” and one person in particular mad that I didn’t reciprocate their feelings.

I want to make it very clear that the allegations in the "Jane" post and in the Reddit comments are untrue. I have never engaged in any sexual activities for which I did not have the unequivocal and enthusiastic consent of all parties, nor would I ever facilitate or condone anything being done to anyone else without their unequivocal and enthusiastic consent. I have never directed anybody's commercial sexual exploitation, either. Any of my former partners who did sex work did so at their own discretion and on their own terms. And there are an enormous number of witnesses who can attest to the fact that I never controlled anyone, physically or in any other way. These people have also tried to convince my children and their friends that I am a serial abuser despite the fact that my children lived with me at the time and had full visibility into the falsity of the accusations.

Although I have never done any of the things I am accused of, I've bent over backwards to avoid giving the impression of trying to "silence" people by threatening legal action or by demanding that posts or comments be removed (both of which I would be well within my rights to do), instead hoping that the blatantly false nature of these claims would be enough to protect me and my reputation. I have also avoided presenting evidence showing that these accusations are factitious, because doing so would mean revealing the confidences of ex partners and people who did not involve themselves in this campaign. I do have material that demonstrates the false nature of these allegations, including messages between me and the people involved. I will make this material available on Monday, so that people have a chance to read this post first. I don’t want to reveal anyone’s private affairs, nor do I want to turn my life and the lives of others into a giant spectacle, but at this point I don't really have any other option.

To my friends: please DO NOT try to support me publicly right now. The architects of this campaign are ruthless and have gone out of their way to try to ruin people’s reputations and livelihoods. If you read the Reddit thread, I’m sure you noticed how cavalier they are about trying to target and hurt others over minimal association with me. I’ve lost work, friends, and much of my faith in other people as a result of being in their crosshairs. I don’t want that to happen to any of you. Please do not provoke these people.

Update

I am not willing to cause embarrassment or to be irresponsible about revealing identities. I do have messages (and can call witnesses) to support my version of events and my assertion that I have not abused anyone or engaged in any other sexual misconduct.

Upon reflection, I don't believe that the Internet is an appropriate place to share any of it. I am particularly uncomfortable at the thought of publishing personal communications of others, especially people hostile to me right now, as that is legally actionable, or asking people to speak out for me who might potentially be attacked as well. I also received this anonymous unsolicited single message from an unknown number, which suggests that anything I do publicly to defend myself will be met with further harassment. 

Again, if any of this seems reasonable or normal to you, I am concerned.

I have no way of verifying that any investigation is underway. I won't be goaded into making sensitive or private disclosures by means of smear campaigns or scare tactics. I am represented by counsel, and I am willing to reveal this material to the authorities, or in any court proceedings if that becomes necessary. I have already denied every allegation and I will not be litigating this matter online.

In the court of public opinion I'm essentially in the position of having to “prove a negative" in order to defend my reputation and career. This is impossible, no matter what "evidence" I have in my possession. There isn't any way to disprove every single rumor being spread about me online. And the people responsible for spreading the rumors know that very well.

Again, I urge people, especially people with public-facing careers not to support me openly right now. Those of you who know who Hell_generator/Whitlash is will understand why not.

I also ask that people leave my children and their friends alone.