Former TV Star Danny Masterson Found Guilty in Rape Trial

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Danny Masterson, star of “That ’70s Show,” was convicted on two counts of rape at his retrial in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

After deliberating for more than a week, the seven women and five men on the jury could not come to a decision on the third count, which said Masterson had raped a former girlfriend. The Associated Press revealed this.

Masterson, 47, was handcuffed out of court while his wife, actress and model Bijou Phillips, sobbed. His relatives and friends were stunned into silence. At his sentence on August 4, he faces up to 30 years in Jail.

Masterson’s first trial, in which he was also charged with raping three women he met through the Church of Scientology, ended in a mistrial, with jurors leaning toward acquittal.

He was accused of raping three women — Jane Doe #1, Jane Doe #2, and Jane Doe #3 — in his Hollywood Hills home between 2001 and 2003.

Former TV Star Danny Masterson Found Guilty in Rape Trial

All three accusers are former members of the Church of Scientology, which Masterson continues to be a member of.

“I am experiencing a complex array of emotions — relief, exhaustion, strength, and sadness — knowing that my abuser, Danny Masterson, will face accountability for his criminal behavior,” Jane Doe #2 said following the verdict.

“I am disappointed that he was not convicted on all counts, but I take great comfort in that he, the Church of Scientology, and others will have to account fully for their heinous actions in civil court.”

Jane Doe #3, whose count Masterson was acquitted, claimed she was “devastated that he has escaped criminal accountability for his heinous conduct against me.”

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“Despite my disappointment in this outcome, I remain determined to secure justice, including in civil court, where I, along with my co-plaintiffs, will shine a light on how Scientology and other conspirators enabled and sought to cover up Masterson’s monstrous behavior” she added.

District Attorney George Gascón of Los Angeles County commended all women who came forward.

“Their courage and strength have inspired us all,” Gascón said in a statement issued following the verdict. “We regret that the jury did not convict on all counts, but we respect their decision.” In this case, The jury’s rulings were challenging to reach, and we applaud the jurors for their service.”

Masterson did not take the stand in his second trial as he did in his first. His defense attorneys also refused to call any witnesses.

Masterson, who has been on bail since his arrest by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division in June 2020, has categorically rejected all of the claims.

He has also denied attαcking a fourth woman, designated as Jane Doe #4, who testified in his first trial that he had also raped her.

Judge Charlaine Olmedo of the Los Angeles County Superior Court initially denied the prosecution’s request to call Jane Doe #4 to the stand in the first trial.

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Still, she changed her mind after prosecutors argued that Masterson’s lawyer opened the door by implying that his three other accusers conspired against him. Masterson was not charged with the fourth woman’s rape.

Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller called Jane Doe #4, along with a fifth woman, to testify that Masterson raped her in 2000 after a cast party in Toronto, according to Deadline.

In the first trial, the fifth woman did not testify. The extra witnesses, unlike Masterson and the three Jane, Does accuse of rape, are not Scientologists.

Both trials drew unwanted attention to the Church of Scientology, which Jane Does accuse of attempting to conceal the claims.

During the trials, Olmedo stated unequivocally that Scientology was not a defendant. However, she allowed witnesses to testify that church leaders encouraged them not to go to the police about the rape claims.

Karin Pouw, a Scientology spokeswoman, has refuted the charges and has repeatedly stated that church doctrine compels members to “abide by all the laws of the land.”

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