Following years of legal deliberation, former That '70s Show star Danny Masterson has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.
In May, Masterson was convicted on two counts of forcible rape, while a jury was unable to reach a verdict on a third rape charge. The actor will be eligible for parole in 2053, when he is 77 years old.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo handed down the sentence today after a jury of seven women and five men found Masterson guilty on May 31. The guilty verdict came after a first hearing in November, which ended with the jury unable to reach a verdict, resulting in a retrial. Both counts on which he was convicted are in relation to incidents that took place in 2003.
Masterson was accused by Chrissie Carnell Bixler, former Scientology member and wife of At the Drive-In and Mars Volta vocalist Cedric Bixler Zavala, as well as two Jane Does, also church members.
The accusers claimed that Masterson fed them drugs and alcohol before violently raping them. Masterson's defence argued that the acts were consensual.
Upon conviction, Masterson's lawyers, Philip Cohen and Shawn Holley, asked Judge Olmedo to opt for a 15-year sentence, asking the court to weigh the actor's "exemplary life," which included community service and being an "extraordinary father" to his nine-year-old daughter [via Variety].
The prosecution countered, "These are multiple victims over time on different occasions. After [Masterson] raped the first, he had time to think about what he had done to that human being… and despite that, he went ahead and committed again. And committed again."
Throughout the legal proceedings, the Church of Scientology, of which Masterson is a member, came under scrutiny, with prosecutors alleging the actor used his position within the organization to suppress the accusations. Masterson and his lawyers argued to limit the mention of Scientology during the trial after a local mayoral race between Rick Caruso and Karen Bass thrust the Church into the spotlight.
Cohen argued in a hearing last year, "It's just horrible timing for the defence ... The word 'Scientology' never needs to come up. If something needs to come up, it can be called 'the church,' 'the organization,' 'a club.'" The church stated that the allegations were "uniformly false."
The plaintiffs, meanwhile, argued that they were initially hesitant to come forward with the allegations for fear of retaliation from church members, who told them they "were not raped, [but] were put through ethics programs themselves, and were warned against going to law enforcement to report a member of such high standing," AP reports. In addition to the sexual assault accusations from plaintiffs, Cedric Bixler Zavala once alleged that the church poisoned his dogs.
"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."
In May, Masterson was convicted on two counts of forcible rape, while a jury was unable to reach a verdict on a third rape charge. The actor will be eligible for parole in 2053, when he is 77 years old.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo handed down the sentence today after a jury of seven women and five men found Masterson guilty on May 31. The guilty verdict came after a first hearing in November, which ended with the jury unable to reach a verdict, resulting in a retrial. Both counts on which he was convicted are in relation to incidents that took place in 2003.
Masterson was accused by Chrissie Carnell Bixler, former Scientology member and wife of At the Drive-In and Mars Volta vocalist Cedric Bixler Zavala, as well as two Jane Does, also church members.
The accusers claimed that Masterson fed them drugs and alcohol before violently raping them. Masterson's defence argued that the acts were consensual.
Upon conviction, Masterson's lawyers, Philip Cohen and Shawn Holley, asked Judge Olmedo to opt for a 15-year sentence, asking the court to weigh the actor's "exemplary life," which included community service and being an "extraordinary father" to his nine-year-old daughter [via Variety].
The prosecution countered, "These are multiple victims over time on different occasions. After [Masterson] raped the first, he had time to think about what he had done to that human being… and despite that, he went ahead and committed again. And committed again."
Throughout the legal proceedings, the Church of Scientology, of which Masterson is a member, came under scrutiny, with prosecutors alleging the actor used his position within the organization to suppress the accusations. Masterson and his lawyers argued to limit the mention of Scientology during the trial after a local mayoral race between Rick Caruso and Karen Bass thrust the Church into the spotlight.
Cohen argued in a hearing last year, "It's just horrible timing for the defence ... The word 'Scientology' never needs to come up. If something needs to come up, it can be called 'the church,' 'the organization,' 'a club.'" The church stated that the allegations were "uniformly false."
The plaintiffs, meanwhile, argued that they were initially hesitant to come forward with the allegations for fear of retaliation from church members, who told them they "were not raped, [but] were put through ethics programs themselves, and were warned against going to law enforcement to report a member of such high standing," AP reports. In addition to the sexual assault accusations from plaintiffs, Cedric Bixler Zavala once alleged that the church poisoned his dogs.
"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."
