Danny Masterson’s rape retrial: Key things to know
LOS ANGELES — Five months after a deadlocked jury led to a mistrial for actor Danny Masterson, the former star of “That ‘70s Show” is about to be retried in a Los Angeles court. Masterson is accused of raping three women between 2001 and 2003. He could get 45 years in prison if convicted.
Here’s the key element key elements, characters and issues that will factor into the retrial. Opening statements are set to begin on Monday.
NEW ROLE FOR SCIENTOLOGY
The Church of Scientology loomed large at Masterson’s trial. It could loom larger still in his retrial, with Judge Charlaine Olmedo allowing expert testimony on Scientology that she denied the first time.
Masterson is a prominent member of the church. All three of his accusers are former members who grew disillusioned with the institution in the aftermath of their alleged assaults, saying that the institution and its policies protected Masterson while they found themselves harassed and discouraged from going to authorities. The church has said neither is true.
The two opposing experts set to testify embody the stark cultural divides the church sometimes creates. The prosecution’s expert, Claire Headley, is a former official in Scientology’s leadership group, known as the Sea Org, who became a staunch church foe, suing it in 2009 over her experience. The defense’s expert is Hugh Martin Whitt, a current highlevel Scientologist who is Headley’s estranged stepfather.
THE DEFENDANT
Masterson, 47, an actor since childhood, got his major break when he was cast as Stephen Hyde on the retro sitcom “That ‘70s Show,” which also starred Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis and Topher Grace and would run on Fox from 1998 until 2006. At the time of the alleged assaults, his career was at its peak, and his house near Hollywood with a backyard pool and Jacuzzi was a social hub. It was also, according to prosecutors, the scene of all three crimes. Masterson had pleaded not guilty and his lawyers have repeatedly denied all of the allegations.
THE FIRST ACCUSER
One of the women Masterson is charged with raping was born into a Scientology family and was part of Masterson’s circle of friends. Nearly all of those closest to her were members, including the late Lisa Marie Presley, who also left the church long before her death in January.
In testimony she will now be asked to repeat, the woman said that when she stopped by Masterson’s house to pick up a set of keys in 2003, he gave her a drink that seemed to have druglike effects on her, and raped her in his bedroom upstairs. She first filed a police report, which did not lead to an arrest, in 2004. She returned to authorities in 2016.
THE SECOND ACCUSER
Another woman set to retell her story is a model and actor who was Masterson’s girlfriend from 1996 to 2002. She joined the church after they began dating. She testified previously that she was living with Masterson in 2001 when he first became sexually abusive toward her. She said that about a month later she woke to find Masterson raping her. She would go to police 15 years later.
THE THIRD ACCUSER
The third woman at the center of the trial had only recently met Masterson through mutual friends in the church, which she had joined as a teenager. She testified that in 2003 that Masterson invited her to his house, where they were alone. She said she was clear that she wanted no sex, but he convinced her to get into his jacuzzi then took her to his bed, where he raped her. She went to police in 2017.