Former TV actor convicted of rape
Masterson, of ‘That ’70s Show,’ faces 30 years in prison on two counts
A jury in Los Angeles on Wednesday convicted Danny Masterson, the actor best known for his role on the sitcom That ’70s Show, of having raped two women in a case that drew widespread attention because of accusations the Church of Scientology had tried to discourage his accusers.
The jury deadlocked on a charge Masterson had raped a third woman, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said.
The mixed verdict came after a jury deadlocked on all three charges in November, resulting in a mistrial. The retrial lasted more than a month and jurors deliberated for more than a week before finding him guilty of two counts of rape by force or fear.
Masterson, 47, was taken into custody after the verdict. He will face up to 30 years to life in state prison when he is sentenced Aug. 4, the district attorney’s office said.
Prosecutors said that Masterson, who played Steven Hyde on That ’70s Show from 1998 to 2006, raped three women at his home in the Hollywood Hills between 2001 and 2003. He was charged in 2020 and had pleaded not guilty. A spokesperson for Masterson’s legal team said the lawyers had no immediate comment after the verdict Wednesday.
The case was closely watched in part because of accusations by two of the women the Church of Scientology, to which they and Masterson belonged, had discouraged them from reporting the rapes to law enforcement, according to court documents. The church has strongly denied that it pressures victims.
Although both trials centered on the same allegations, Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo of Los Angeles Superior Court allowed prosecutors to tell jurors directly in the second trial Masterson had drugged his three accusers, The Associated Press reported.
Prosecutors only suggested the possibility of drugging in the first trial, as they presented testimony the women felt disoriented and confused after Masterson gave them alcoholic drinks.
Masterson’s lawyer, Philip Cohen, had argued the women’s stories were inconsistent and there was no physical evidence of drugging and “no evidence of force or violence,” the AP reported.
“I am experiencing a complex array of emotions — relief, exhaustion, strength, sadness — knowing that my abuser, Danny Masterson, will face accountability for his criminal behavior,” one of Masterson’s accusers, who was identified in court documents only as N. Trout, said in a statement released by a public relations firm for lawyers who are representing her in a lawsuit against Masterson and the Church of Scientology.