Actor Danny Masterson sentenced to 30 years to life for two rapes - BBC

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Actor Danny Masterson arrives at Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles, CA on Wednesday, May 31, 2023 with wife Bijou Phillips

By Regan Morris in Los Angeles and Max Matza

BBC News

US actor Danny Masterson has been sentenced to serve 30 years to life in prison for raping two women.

Masterson starred on That '70s Show, a TV series that was airing at the time of his crimes in the early 2000s.

Prosecutors argued Masterson, 47, had relied on his status as a prominent Scientologist to avoid accountability.

On Thursday, Judge Charlaine Olmedo allowed his victims to read victim impact statements in court ahead of his sentencing.

Prominent former Scientologist and actor Leah Remini attended the sentencing hearing and comforted the women before and after they delivered their statements.

"I wished I had reported him earlier to the police," one of the women said, according to US media.

Masterson remained silent throughout the hearing.

As the judge read his sentence - the maximum penalty allowed - his wife, Bijou Phillips was seen in court breaking down in tears.

Masterson was found guilty in May at a re-trial after the first jury was unable to reach a verdict in 2022.

The actor was convicted after three women testified that he had sexually assaulted them at his Hollywood home from 2001-03 - during the height of his television fame.

The jury heard testimony that he had given them drugs before he assaulted them.

He was found guilty of rape against two of his three accusers. The charges brought by the third accuser were declared a mistrial and prosecutors said they do not plan to retry the case.

After his conviction, Masterson was deemed a flight risk and was taken into prison custody.

Masterson was first accused of rape in 2017 during the height of the #MeToo movement. He denied the accusations and said each of the encounters was consensual.

Charges came after a three-year investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department. Prosecutors did not file charges in two other cases because of insufficient evidence and the statute of limitations expiring.

Throughout the trial, prosecutors argued that the Church of Scientology had helped cover up the assaults - an allegation the organisation has categorically denied.

At the time of the assaults, Masterson and all three of his accusers were Scientologists. Several of the women said it took them years to come forward because Church of Scientology officials discouraged them from reporting the rape to police.

Scientology officials told one survivor she would be kicked out of the Church unless she signed a non-disclosure agreement and accepted a payment of $400,000 (£320,000), according to prosecutors.

During the trial, Judge Olmedo allowed both sides to discuss the dogma and practices of Scientology, angering the religious community.

In its statement after the verdict in May, the Church said there was "not a scintilla of evidence supporting the scandalous allegations that the Church harassed the accusers".

Thursday's sentencing hearing was also attended by Jessica Barth, who founded Voices in Action in the wake of the #MeToo movement. Ms Barth was one of the first women to publicly accuse Harvey Weinstein of abuse and her non-profit works to encourage others to come forward and report abuse.

Prior to the hearing, a motion for a new trial by Masterson's defence team was denied by the judge, according to an LA court official.