Ministry‘s Sin Quirin has announced his exit from the band, more than a year after the guitarist was accused of – and denied – engaging in underage sexual relationships with two women.
Quirin reportedly announced his departure from the industrial metal band on Facebook on May 14, in a since-deleted post which did not address the allegations.
According to Consequence of Sound, Quirin said he had decided to step down from Ministry to “focus on my health, my personal life, as well as other projects and interests”.
“Ministry will always be family to me. They all know I love them very much and that I want nothing but the best for them and much success. Thank you for your continued support everyone,” the post concluded.
A representative for Ministry has confirmed to NME that Quirin is no longer in the band, but did not respond to a query on whether the allegations brought against the guitarist played a part in his departure.
In January 2020, Spin reported and Billboard published allegations by two women who said Quirin had engaged in sexual relations with them when they were 15 and 16 respectively.
One of the women, Kelly Longoria, claimed to have met Quirin when in 2002, while he was a member of the industrial band Society 1. She was 15 years old at the time. Longoria alleged that she and Quirin engaged in sexual activity multiple times when she was a minor, and continued a relationship for several years.
Another women, identified only as “Brooke”, alleged she had sex with Quirin when she was 16, after inviting Society 1 to stay at her house in Portland, Oregon following a gig. She claimed that although she “definitely made it clear” that she was underage, she had sex with the guitarist that night and the following night after a gig in Tacoma, Washington.
At the time, Quirin denied having sex with either of the women while they were underage, in a statement to Spin via his attorney, Randolph Ortega. “Mr. Quirin maintains no recollection of meeting a minor outside a show in Portland,” the statement read. “Mr. Quirin denies ever have [sic] any sexual relationship with anyone under the age of majority.”
The lawyer also maintained at the time that the band’s frontman, Al Jourgensen, was “unaware of any of potential nefarious activity by any member of Ministry during their respective tenure(s) with the band including but not limited to Mr. Sin Quirin”.
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