Danny Masterson, an actor who rose to prominence on That ’70s Show, was sentenced Thursday in Los Angeles to 30 years to life in prison for raping two women.
Masterson, 47, did not speak at his sentencing hearing, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The two accusers were both former members of the Church of Scientology, and gave victim impact statements.
“Since the week I came forward to police, I have been terrorized, harassed and had my privacy invaded daily by the cult of Scientology for almost 7 years now,” said N. Trout. “But I don’t regret it.”
A second accuser listed as Jen B. said the case destroyed her relationship with her mother, who is a practicing scientologist.
“She texted me and told me to never contact her again,” Jen B. said. “She had warned me ahead of time she wanted to see Danny Masterson locked away for what he’d done to me, but not at the expense of her religion.”
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office announced in June 2020, that Masterson had been charged with three counts of rape.
Prosecutors said the crimes occurred between 2001 and 2003, on separate dates after the actor invited the women to his Hollywood Hills home.
The actor’s attorney, Tom Mesereau, said at the time: “Mr. Masterson is innocent, and we’re confident that he will be exonerated when all the evidence finally comes to light.”
During his first trial, jurors were unable to reach a unanimous decision, and a mistrial was declared.
Prosecutors retried the actor. He was found guilty on May 31, 2023, of two counts of rape by force or fear. Law enforcement took him into custody after the verdict and he has remained behind bars.
The jury deadlocked on the charge involving the third alleged victim, but found true the special allegation of forcible rape against more than one person.
Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller told the jury in his closing argument, “This defendant drugged and raped each one of these victims.”
Mueller said Masterson and the three women were all members of the Church of Scientology, adding that the church retaliated against the women after they accused Masterson of rape.
The church denied the claims in a previous statement.
“The church has no policy prohibiting or discouraging members from reporting criminal conduct of anyone, Scientologists or not, to law enforcement,” the church said. “Quite the opposite, church policy explicitly demands Scientologists abide by all laws of the land. All allegations to the contrary are totally false.”
In December 2017, Netflix fired Masterson from the Emmy-winning series The Ranch amid sexual assault allegations, before prosecutors filed charges.
“As a result of ongoing discussions, Netflix and the producers have written Danny Masterson out of The Ranch,” the streamer said in a statement to USA Today. “Yesterday was his last day on the show, and production will resume in early 2018 without him.”
The actor insisted he was innocent and denied “the outrageous allegations”
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