Danny Masterson sentencing - live: Judge slams ‘That 70s Show’ actor as he jails him for 30 years in rape case

Danny Masterson, star of That 70s Show, has been sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for the rapes of two women two decades ago.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo handed down the sentence to the 47-year-old actor after ruling on a defence motion for a new trial that she rejected, and having heard impact statements from the victims.

A jury of seven women and five men found Masterson guilty of two counts on 31 May after seven days of deliberations. Both attacks took place in Masterson’s Hollywood Hills home in 2003, when he was at the height of his fame on the Fox network sitcom.

The jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on a third count, an allegation that Masterson also raped a longtime girlfriend.

The verdict came in a second trial after a jury failed to reach verdicts on three counts of forcible rape in December 2022 and a mistrial was declared.

Prosecutors alleged that Masterson used his prominence in the Church of Scientology — where all three women were also members at the time — to avoid consequences for decades after the attacks.

Key Points

• Actor Danny Masterson sentenced to 30 years to life in prison

• 47-year-old found guilty of rapes of two women twenty years ago at his Hollywood Hills home

• Jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on a third count

• Verdicts came in second trial after first jury failed to reach unanimous verdicts

• Prosecutors allege Masterson used position in Church of Scientology to avoid consequences

• Crimes occurred in 2003 at height of his fame in Fox sitcom ‘That 70s Show’

Masterson’s wife breaks down at rape sentencing: Who is Bijou Phillips?

Thursday 7 September 2023 20:40 , Kaleigh Werner

Reports indicate Masterson’s wife, Bijou Phillips, was visibly upset in court when her husband of 12 years was convicted on 31 May following seven days of jury deliberation and a mistrial in 2022. The 43-year-old model clung to Masterson’s side for the duration of his trial, showing no signs she plans to leave or divorce him as of now.

Her husband’s trial joins a long list of scandals Bijou has encountered throughout her life. For those who aren’t familiar, here’s a little background on the sitcom star’s wife.

Danny Masterson’s wife breaks down at rape sentencing: Who is Bijou Phillips?

Full story: Masterson sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for rapes

Thursday 7 September 2023 20:20 , Oliver O'Connell

That ’70s Show star Danny Masterson has been sentenced to life in prison for the rapes of two women two decades ago.

He will be eligible for parole after serving 30 years.

The sentence was handed down on Thursday (7 September) by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F Olmedo, after she had rejected a defence motion for a new trial.

Inga Parkel filed this report for The Independent.

Danny Masterson sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for rapes

Masterson unmoved by sentencing victim statements

Thursday 7 September 2023 20:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Actor Danny Masterson remained unmoved as his two rape victims gave powerful impact statements to a judge before the That ‘70s Show star was sentenced for the attacks.

“When you raped me, you stole from me,” said one woman who Masterson, 47, was convicted of raping in 2003. “That’s what rape is, a theft of the spirit.”

Graeme Massie reports for The Independent from Los Angeles.

Danny Masterson unmoved by powerful victim statements at sentencing

BREAKING: Masterson sentenced to 30 years to life

Thursday 7 September 2023 19:42 , Oliver O'Connell

Los Angeles Judge Charlaine Olmedo sentences That 70s Show actor Danny Masterson to 30 years to life in prison for rapes of 2 women.

Judge Olmedo said: “Mr Masterson, you are not the victim here. Your actions 20 years ago took away another person’s choice and voice. Your actions 20 years ago today were criminal, and that’s why you are here.”

Developing story...

Masterson's ex says rape came years into relationship

Thursday 7 September 2023 19:35 , Oliver O'Connell

A former girlfriend of actor Danny Masterson testified during the trial that he had grown increasingly abusive and controlling during their five-year relationship when he raped her in their bed in November of 2001.

The woman, a model who had begun dating Masterson in 1996, shortly before he gained fame as a star of the sitcom That ‘70s Show, said there had been previous instances when she woke in the night to find Masterson on top of her, and had accepted sex with him to avoid angering him.

On this night, however, she said clearly she did not consent, and resisted.

“I told him ‘no, I don’t want to have sex.’ He didn’t listen to me,” said the woman, the first to take the stand in the Los Angeles courtroom at Masterson’s retrial on three counts of rape.

She spoke more quickly and grew more emotional as the story continued. “So I continued pleading with him, like, ‘please get off of me, no.’ And he was continuing. And it was painful. And I remember trying to push his chest up off of me. I couldn’t get him off of me.”

She said Masterson pinned her arms above her head to keep her down. As she struggled, she recalled Masterson’s clearly established “rules” that no one touch his hair or his face, which she had previously heeded.

“If I did this, I knew it wouldn’t be good. But I believed it would maybe make him stop.”

She said she managed to free one arm and yanked his hair at the back of his head. She said he then hit her in the jaw with a partially closed fist, spat on her, and stormed off.

Ultimately, the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on this count.

Masterson’s wife ‘distraught’ and crying as new trial denied and victims read statements

Thursday 7 September 2023 19:35 , Oliver O'Connell

The Messenger reports that Danny Masterson’s wife Bijou Phillips was “noticeably distraught” during this morning’s sentencing hearing, crying off and on as his victims read their impact statements.

Judge Charlaine Olmedo also denied Masterson’s request for a new trial.

Full story: Judge rejects new trial for Danny Masterson, weighs prospect of decades in prison

Thursday 7 September 2023 19:08 , AP

Danny Masterson, star of That 70s Show could get as much as 30 years to life in prison at his sentencing Thursday for the rapes of two women two decades ago.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo is set to sentence the 47-year-old actor after rejecting a defence motion for a new trial.

She is hearing victim impact statements before issuing her ruling on what Masterson’s sentence will be. The actor, who has been in custody since May, sat in court wearing a suit.

“When you raped me, you stole from me,” said one woman who Masterson was convicted of raping in 2003. “That’s what rape is, a theft of the spirit.”

“You are pathetic, disturbed and completely violent,” she said. “The world is better off with you in prison.”

The other woman Masterson was found guilty of raping said he “has not shown an ounce of remorse for the pain he caused.” She told the judge, “I knew he belonged behind bars for the safety of all the women he came into contact with. I am so sorry, and I’m so upset. I wish I’d reported him sooner to the police.”

Masterson watched the women without visible reaction as they spoke.

A jury of seven women and five men found Masterson guilty of two counts on 31 May after seven days of deliberations. Both attacks took place in Masterson’s Hollywood-area home in 2003, when he was at the height of his fame on the Fox network sitcom.

The jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on a third count, an allegation that Masterson also raped a longtime girlfriend.

The verdict came in a second trial after a jury failed to reach verdicts on three counts of forcible rape in December and a mistrial was declared.

The defence sought to have sentences for the two convictions run simultaneously and asked for a sentence of 15 years to life. The prosecution asked for the full 30 years to life sentence Masterson was eligible for.

“It’s his life that will be impacted by what you decide today,” Masterson’s lawyer Shawn Holley told the judge. “And the life of his 9-year-old daughter, who means the world to him, and to whom he means the world.”

“He has lived an exemplary life, he has been an extraordinary father, husband, brother, son, co-worker and community servant,” Holley said.

Scientology survivor Leah Rimini in court

Thursday 7 September 2023 19:03 , Oliver O'Connell

Ex-Scientologist and campaigner Leah Rimini is in the court to support the victims.

One of the victims addressed the allegation that she had persuaded them to falsely accuse Masterson.

“Sorry, Leah’s not behind this.”

Court on 15-minute break ahead of sentencing

Thursday 7 September 2023 18:59 , Oliver O'Connell

“Just to be clear, Mr. Masterson is not going to say anything,” lawyer Shawn Holley just told Judge Olmedo.

Two of the victims spoke for about 10-20 minutes. One brought up Masterson’s DJ name: DJ Donkey Punch.

“You relish in hurting women. It is your addiction. It is without question your favourite thing to do,” legal affairs journalist Meghann Cuniff reports her as saying.

“Life is precious and fragile. Find your heart … Learn something. Read books. Listen to the brightness of nothing and get well. I forgive you,” the same victim said.

A prosecutor read aloud a statement from the third victim that jurors deadlocked on.

Thursday 7 September 2023 18:42 , Oliver O'Connell

How did Masterson’s lawyer challenge allegations?

Thursday 7 September 2023 17:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Masterson’s attorney challenged his former longterm girlfriend during her testimony at the trial as to why new details had emerged in her account of when she claimed the actor raped her in 2001.

Read more...

Danny Masterson lawyer challenges new details in rape story

What happened during deliberations?

Thursday 7 September 2023 17:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Jurors deliberated for more than a week before reaching a verdict.

Actor Danny Masterson's rape retrial sees deliberations drag on again

Who is Danny Masterson’s wife, Bijou Phillips?

Thursday 7 September 2023 16:55 , Oliver O'Connell

The trial and conviction of Bijou Phillips’s husband Danny Masterson joins a long list of scandals she has encountered throughout her life. For those who aren’t familiar, here’s a little background on the sitcom star’s wife.

Who is Danny Masterson’s wife, Bijou Phillips?

Have Masterson’s former co-stars spoken about the case?

Thursday 7 September 2023 16:28 , Oliver O'Connell

Actor Ashton Kutcher, who starred alongside Masterston on That 70s Show and The Ranch, commented on the case back in January.

Thursday 7 September 2023 16:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Who were Masterson’s accusers?

Thursday 7 September 2023 16:08 , AP

The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they were victims of sexual abuse.

The first accuser

One of the women Masterson is convicted of 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.

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 left her sick and badly disoriented, 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.

Jurors found her account credible and convicted Masterson based on her allegations.

The second accuser

A model and actor who was Masterson's girlfriend from 1996 to 2002 took the stand to open the trial. She previously testified that Masterson grew increasingly physically and sexually abusive in their years together. She said that it eventually led to him raping her twice late in 2001, though he is only charged with one instance, a morning when she woke to find Masterson raping her. She would go to the police 15 years later.

Jurors could not agree on a verdict on her allegations, deadlocking 8-4 in favour of conviction.

The third accuser

The third woman at the centre 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 and then took her to his bed, where he raped her. She went to the police in 2017.

Jurors convicted Masterson based on her testimony.

Who is Masterson?

Thursday 7 September 2023 15:58 , Oliver O'Connell

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.

AP

What were the allegations and could Masterson appeal?

Thursday 7 September 2023 15:53 , Oliver O'Connell

Masterson did not testify, and his lawyers called no witnesses. The defence argued that the acts were consensual, and attempted to discredit the women’s stories by highlighting changes and inconsistencies over time, which they said showed signs of coordination between them.

The women whose testimony led to Masterson’s conviction said that in 2003, he gave them drinks and that they then became woozy or passed out before he violently raped them.

Olmedo allowed prosecutors and accusers to say directly in the second trial that Masterson drugged the women, while only allowing the women to describe their condition in the first.

Masterson was not charged with any counts of drugging, and there was no toxicology evidence to back up the assertion. The issue could be a factor in a planned appeal from the defence of Masterson’s conviction.

AP

Did Scientology play a role in the aftermath of rapes?

Thursday 7 September 2023 15:38 , Oliver O'Connell

Prosecutors alleged that Masterson used his prominence in the Church of Scientology — where all three women were also members at the time — to avoid consequences for decades after the attacks.

The women blamed the church for their hesitancy in going to the police about Masterson. They testified that when they reported him to Scientology officials, they were told they were not raped, were put through ethics programs themselves, and were warned against going to law enforcement to report a member of such high standing.

“They were raped, they were punished for it, and they were retaliated against,” Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller told jurors at the trial. “Scientology told them there’s no justice for them.”

The church said in a statement after the verdict that the “testimony and descriptions of Scientology beliefs” during the trial were “uniformly false.”

“The Church has no policy prohibiting or discouraging members from reporting criminal conduct of anyone — Scientologists or not — to law enforcement,” the statement said.

AP

Sitcom actor Danny Masterson faces sentencing today

Thursday 7 September 2023 15:22 , Oliver O'Connell

That 70s Show star Danny Masterson could get as much as 30 years to life in prison at his sentencing Thursday for the rapes of two women two decades ago.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo is set to sentence the 47-year-old actor after ruling on a defence motion for a new trial that she’s very likely to reject, and after hearing impact statements from the victims.

A jury of seven women and five men found Masterson guilty of two counts on 31 May after seven days of deliberations. Both attacks took place in Masterson’s Hollywood Hills home in 2003 when he was at the height of his fame on the Fox network sitcom.

The jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on a third count, an allegation that Masterson also raped a longtime girlfriend.

The verdict came in a second trial after a jury failed to reach verdicts on three counts of forcible rape in December and a mistrial was declared.