American actor, Danny Masterson has been sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for raping two women at his house in the swanky Hollywood Hills area of Los Angeles 20 years ago.
Masterson, a star of the sitcom ‘That 70s Show’, has been in the custody since May, for drugging and then raping fellow members of the Church of Scientology between 2001 and 2003.
Judge Charlaine F Olmedo imposed a sentenced of 15 years-to-life on each rape conviction, to run consecutively.
The judge told him, “Mr. Masterson, you are not the victim here,” stating that his actions had taken away another person’s voice and choice.
One of the victims identified as Jane Doe 2, told the actor in court: “You relish… hurting women.”
“When you raped me, you stole from me.
“That’s what rape is, a theft of the spirit.”
“You lived your life behind a mask as two people. But the real one sits here.
“You are pathetic, disturbed and completely violent. The world is better off with you in prison,” she said.
The 47-year-old Us actor sat in his suit without a reaction as the women spoke.
The second victims who he raped in 2003, said Masterson “has not shown an ounce of remorse for the pain he caused”.
The woman 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.”
Actor Danny Masterson married actress, Bijou Phillips in 2011, and their union is blessed with a nine-year-old daughter, Fianna Francis Masterson.
A mistrial was declared in December 2022 after a jury failed to reach a verdict on three rape counts, and he was retried on all charges.
The three women at the heart of the charges against Masterson were members of the Church of Scientology at the time. Two of them said church officials had discouraged them from contacting law enforcement.
However, the Church of Scientology in a statement said, 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.”
Masterson’s lawyer, Shawn Holley in closing arguments told the judge, “It’s his life that will be impacted by what you decide today.
“And the life of his nine-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.”
