LOS ANGELES (AP) — Danny Masterson, known for his role in “That ’70s Show,” has been sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for the rapes of two women that occurred two decades ago.
The sentencing was delivered by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo after the women spoke about the trauma they endured and the lasting impact it had on their lives.
Masterson, who has been in custody since May, appeared in court in a suit. He showed no visible reaction as the women gave their statements.
One of the women, who Masterson was convicted of raping in 2003, said, “When you raped me, you stole from me. That’s what rape is, a theft of the spirit.”
She continued, “You are pathetic, disturbed, and completely violent. The world is better off with you in prison.”
The second woman Masterson was found guilty of raping stated that he “has not shown an ounce of remorse for the pain he caused.” She expressed regret for not reporting him to the police sooner and said she knew he belonged behind bars to protect other women.
After a mistrial was declared in December due to a jury’s inability to reach verdicts on three counts of rape, Masterson was retried on all three counts earlier this year.
In May, a jury consisting of seven women and five men found Masterson guilty on two counts after seven days of deliberation. Both assaults occurred in Masterson’s Hollywood home in 2003 when he was at the height of his fame on “That ’70s Show.”
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The jury was unable to reach a verdict on the third count, which accused Masterson of raping a former girlfriend. The vote was 8-4 in favor of conviction.
Rejecting a defense motion for a new trial, the judge sentenced Masterson. The defense requested that the sentences for the two convictions run concurrently and asked for a sentence of 15 years to life. The prosecution sought the maximum 30 years to life sentence that Masterson was eligible for.
“The decision you make today will impact his life and the life of his 9-year-old daughter, who means the world to him,” Masterson’s lawyer Shawn Holley told the judge during the sentencing. “He has lived an exemplary life and has been an extraordinary father, husband, brother, son, co-worker, and community servant,” Holley added.
Prosecutors argued that Masterson used his influence within the Church of Scientology, of which all three women were members at the time, to evade consequences for decades following the assaults.
The women blamed the church for their reluctance to report Masterson to the police. They testified that when they informed Scientology officials, they were told they hadn’t been raped, underwent ethics programs themselves, and were discouraged from involving law enforcement due to Masterson’s high standing within the organization.
In response to the trial, the church released a statement refuting the “false” testimony and descriptions of Scientology beliefs and denied having any policy discouraging members from reporting criminal conduct.
Masterson did not take the stand, and his defense team called no witnesses. They argued that the encounters were consensual and attempted to undermine the credibility of the women’s stories by pointing out changes and inconsistencies over time, suggesting collusion between them.
The women, whose testimony led to Masterson’s conviction, claimed that in 2003, he provided them with drinks that caused them to become woozy or unconscious before he violently raped them.
In the second trial, Judge Olmedo allowed prosecutors and the accusers to directly state that Masterson drugged the women, whereas in the first trial, the women were only allowed to describe their state. It’s important to note that Masterson was not charged with drugging, and there was no toxicology evidence to support the claim. This could be a factor in the defense’s planned appeal.
The Associated Press typically does not identify individuals who state they’ve been sexually abused.
Masterson starred alongside Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, and Topher Grace in “That ’70s Show” from 1998 to 2006.
He reunited with Kutcher on the Netflix comedy “The Ranch” in 2016 but was written off the show after the Los Angeles Police Department began investigating him in 2017.
Although this investigation predates the wave of allegations against Harvey Weinstein in October 2017, Masterson’s conviction and sentencing represent a significant success for Los Angeles prosecutors in the #MeToo era, following Weinstein’s conviction last year.
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