Danny Masterson Receives 30-Year Prison Terms Following Rape Conviction

 Following his rape conviction earlier this year, Danny Masterson was given a 30-year prison term.

 

Masterson, who is most known for his work on the popular Fox sitcom "That 70's Show" and the Netflix series "The Ranch," was in danger of receiving a sentence ranging from 30 years to life in prison.

 

This past May, the actor, who adamantly denies all claims, was found guilty on two of the three forcible rape counts. Masterson was charged with raping three women at his Hollywood Hills residence between 2001 and 2003, which was when he appeared on "That 70's Show. He was found guilty of raping two women in 2003, but the jury was unable to reach a conclusion regarding a claim made in November 2001 involving a former partner, despite the fact that all of the jurors had voted in favour of conviction.

The three women involved in the case testified before the judge at the sentencing and pleaded with him to give Masterson a life sentence in prison since his acts had destroyed their lives. The actor was described by Jane Doe 1 as "a true coward and heartless monster." I still have to deal with what you did to me that night, Jane Doe 2 said across the courtroom to Masterson. That requires a lifetime of counselling to fix. I keep having flashbacks to the rape just when I think I'm okay. The judge was informed by Jane Doe 3 that she suffers from PTSD.

At his sentence, Masterson, who was wearing a suit and had his hair pulled back with a thick beard, remained silent.

 

On Thursday morning, many of Masterson's Hollywood family members were present in court to support him during his sentence. At the courthouse, his wife, the actor and model Bijou Phillips, was in tears. He was in the courtroom with his siblings, actors Alanna Masterson from "The Walking Dead," Christopher Masterson from "Malcolm in the Middle," and actor Jordan Masterson.

 

"Mr. Masterson, this is not your fault. 20 years ago, you did something that silenced and restricted another person's choices. As she handed down Masterson's sentence on Thursday in a courtroom in downtown Los Angeles, Judge Charlaine Olmedo stated, "Your conduct 20 years ago was illegal, and that is why you are here. On each of the two charges, the judge gave Masterson a 15-year to life sentence, with the requirement that he serve both terms concurrently.

 

Masterson has been tried twice before for the identical allegations, with the second trial ending in a conviction in May 2023.

 

The judge decided to retry the case in front of a new jury after the first trial ended in a hung jury in November 2022. The main distinction between the two trials was the accusation of drug use. The ladies testified in the first trial that after consuming a drink made by Masterson, they felt weak or woozy and had poor recall, but the prosecution did not explicitly claim that Masterson had drugged the victims. Prosecutors claimed that Masterson had actually poisoned them during the retrial.

 

Both trials exposed the Church of Scientology, and the judgement resulted in the shocking expulsion of one of its most well-known celebrity adherents. Although all three of the victims have since left the church, Masterson has been a member for all of his life.

 

Leah Remini, a former Scientologist and one of the most vocal opponents of the church in Hollywood, supported the women by sitting in the front row of the gallery during the sentencing.

 

The three Jane Does said that the church discouraged them from reporting Masterson to the police, both during the sentence hearing and in testimony. Throughout the course of the trial, the prosecution maintained that Masterson had used his position within the church to rape women without fear of repercussions and that the church forbade women from reporting sexual assault to the police.

 

On Thursday, Jane Doe 2 testified before the judge that she was a "brainwashed member" of Scientology at the time of the assault and claimed that the organisation had made "concerted efforts" to hide Masterson's actions. She stated that since coming up with her accusations, "the cult of Scientology has almost daily invaded my privacy."

 

In her victim impact statement, Jane Doe 1, a second-generation Scientologist who was born into the faith, claimed that when she was a member, she adhered to "policy" by refraining from reporting her alleged rape to outside authorities. There are repercussions, she said. "Until I was sexually assaulted by Mr. Masterson, it was the only community I had ever known. Since Danny was well known, Scientology provided him with extensive protection. She claimed that after reporting to the LAPD, she was "deemed an enemy of the group" and "lost the ability to be in contact with every person I'd known or loved, and that she even gave suicide a serious thought.

 

Throughout both trials, Masterson's defence made an effort to minimise the influence of Scientology. The jurors were informed by his solicitors during the trial that they could not be prejudiced against any religion and that "Scientology is not a defendant" or "Scientology is not an element of this case. His attorneys made a point of emphasising this to the jury.

 

Masterson's defence team, led by lawyers Phillip Cohen and Shawn Holley, requested a 15-year sentence from the judge. Holley assured the judge that she had no desire to "minimise the conduct" of her client and urged the court to take into account his "exemplary life," highlighting his dedication to the community, his work ethic, and his role as an "extraordinary father" to his daughter, age 9, who "means the world to him."

 

Reinhold Mueller and Ariel Anson, two deputy district attorneys in Los Angeles, led the prosecution and requested a maximum 30-year sentence. Masterson's crimes were "targeted" and "heinous," according to Mueller, who also told the judge that he committed his crimes while the women were "incapable" and after "dosing" them. Mueller said that whether or not Masterson is a good parent "does not preclude one from becoming a violent, serial rapist."

 

Mueller pleaded with the judge for the toughest punishment, saying, "These are multiple victims over time on different occasions. "After [he] had sexually assaulted the first, he had some time to reflect on what he had done to that person, and yet he went on and committed once more. And again committed."

 

Jane Doe 2 and Jane Doe 3's legal counsel, Alison Anderson, praised her clients in a statement to Variety and used their first names to refer to them: "Niesha and Chrissie have displayed tremendous strength and bravery by coming forward to law enforcement and directly participating in two gruelling criminal trials. These strong women helped hold a merciless sexual predator accountable today despite ongoing harassment, obstruction, and intimidation, and they are not stopping there. They are anxious to soon share the whole account of how Scientology and its supporters fought valiantly to prevent them from speaking out.

 

One of the women stated that although she forgives Masterson, she thinks he should spend the rest of his life behind bars. It was not long before the actor was given his punishment.

 

"I don't have to lug your disgrace everywhere I go. You must now carry it. You have to carry that while sitting in a cell, Jane Doe 2 remarked in the courtroom. "Your true legacy will be your emptiness and cowardice. You are pitiful, insane, and incredibly violent. With

With you in jail, the world is more secure.