AMARILLO, Texas (AP) — Stanley Marsh 3, an eccentric millionaire artist best known for his Cadillac Ranch art display along an interstate highway in the Texas Panhandle, has settled lawsuits from 10 teenagers who said he paid them for sex acts, lawyers for both sides announced Saturday.
In a prepared statement, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Anthony Buzbee, and Mr. Marsh’s lawyer, Kelly Utsinger, said the teenagers and Mr. Marsh have resolved their differences and that no side would comment further. The statement was obtained by The Amarillo Globe-News.
Mr. Marsh had a stroke in 2011 and his wife, Gwendolyn Marsh, was later appointed as his guardian.
Mr. Marsh also faces six counts of sexual assault and five counts of sexual performance of a child. The charges accuse the 75-year-old millionaire and artist of molesting a 15-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy in 2010. Mr. Marsh surrendered to the authorities in November and is free on $300,000 bail. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison per count and fines of up to $10,000. His lawyers have denied the charges.
The civil suits accused Mr. Marsh of giving the teenagers cash, alcohol, drugs and, in one case, two BMWs, to perform sex acts with him at his office. One of the teenagers said he had more than 100 sexual encounters with Mr. Marsh in his office and at his home in Amarillo.
When Mr. Marsh was arrested last year, his lawyers issued a statement saying the charges were “mere allegations by the group of accusers who have filed a barrage of civil lawsuits against Marsh seeking millions of dollars.” The Amarillo police said they found evidence during their search of Mr. Marsh’s offices that corroborated “the accounts of sexual exploitation of minors.” Police seized 70 envelopes of blue pills, confidentiality agreements, two computers, couch cushion covers and a photo of a nude male, according to a search warrant inventory. Also found were 11 copies of blank or unsigned “release and waiver” documents in Mr. Marsh’s private office, according to a police inventory.
In 1998, Mr. Marsh pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of unlawful restraint and criminal trespassing as part of an agreement that dismissed five felony charges that included kidnapping, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and indecency with a child. He served 10 days in jail and paid $4,000 in fines.
Mr. Marsh is best known for planting 10 brightly painted Cadillacs nose down along Interstate 40 in the 1970s. The cars have become a pop art landmark.
Millionaire Stanley Marsh 3 Settles Abuse Lawsuit
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Millionaire Stanley Marsh 3 Settles Abuse Lawsuit
