One woman, a model who had begun dating Masterson in 1996 and alleged the actor raped her in their bed in November 2001, testified that about a month after the rape, she and Masterson went to dinner at a restaurant they frequented near their home. The motion was denied, but the issue is likely to be a major factor in any potential appeal. Masterson's attorney asked for a mistrial over the issue’s inclusion. And he does it over and over and over again.” The defendant makes that choice for these victims. “You don’t want to have sex? You don’t have a choice. He does this to take away his victims’ ability to consent,” Deputy District Attorney Ariel Anson told the jury in the trial's closing arguments May 16. “The defendant drugs his victims to gain control. Masterson was not charged with any counts of drugging, and there is no toxicology evidence to back up the assertion. Olmedo only allowed secondary evidence of it at the first trial. Olmedo also allowed the prosecution to state directly that Masterson drugged each of the victims. It added: "There is not a scintilla of evidence supporting the scandalous allegations that the Church harassed the accusers."ĭuring the retrial, Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. The church has denied having any policies forbidding members from reporting other members to law enforcement.įollowing the verdict Thursday, the church again denied such policies and said in a statement that "the prosecution’s introduction of religion into this trial was an unprecedented violation of the First Amendment and affects the due process rights of every American." The women testified that church officials kept them from going to authorities as soon as they would have about Masterson. The judge allowed a former member of the church's leadership to testify as an expert on the institution's policies about going to police, and a courtroom controversy broke out during the trial over a Scientology attorney apparently having possession of trial evidence. The Church of Scientology, which the women claimed impacted how they reported the alleged assaults, played an even larger role in the second trial than it did in the first. 'I told him no': Ex-girlfriend of Danny Masterson recounts 'painful' rape in testimony What happened in Danny Masterson's retrial? Here's everything to know about Masterson's trials. "Their courage and strength have been an inspiration to us all.” “We want to express our gratitude to the three women who came forward and bravely shared their experiences," Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement after the verdict Wednesday. Masterson’s defense attorneys declined to call any witnesses, and Masterson did not testify. In January, a request to throw out the case was denied and a retrial was confirmed. His first trial for the case ended in a mistrial last November, with jurors deadlocked on all three counts. Masteron, 47, was charged in 2020 with raping three women at his Los Angeles home between 20. "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 the women, whom Masterson was convicted of raping at his home in 2003, said in a statement.Ī second woman, a former girlfriend, whose count left the jury deadlocked, said in the statement: "While I’m encouraged that Danny Masterson will face some criminal punishment, I am devastated that he has dodged criminal accountability for his heinous conduct against me."Ī spokesperson for Masterson declined comment, but his attorneys will almost certainly appeal. Other family and friends sat stone-faced. His wife, actor and model Bijou Phillips, wept as he was led away. No sentencing date has yet been set, but the judge told Masterson and his lawyers to return to court Aug. Masterson was led from the courtroom in handcuffs and will be held without bail until he is sentenced. They had voted 8-4 in favor of conviction. They could not reach a verdict on the third count, that alleged Masterson raped a longtime girlfriend. The jury of seven women and five men reached the verdict after deliberating for seven days spread over two weeks. The "That '70s Show" actor faces up to 30 years in prison. A jury found Danny Masterson guilty of two counts of rape Wednesday at his Los Angeles retrial.
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