Danny Masterson, star of the popular television series That 70’s Show, was sentenced this Thursday to 30 years in prison for raping two women in 2003. The 47-year-old actor questioned his two victims in a sentencing hearing, who had the opportunity to get even with a character who lived with impunity for two decades. “When you raped me, you stole something from me… that’s rape, the theft of my soul,” one said. The other claimed Masterson had a penchant for harming women. “You are, without a doubt, addicted to it, it is your favorite activity,” N. Trout told the judge. He added: “Life is precious and fragile… I hope that in prison one learns something, reads books, hears the splendor of emptiness and becomes healthy.” “I forgive you,” Trout said.
Judge Charlaine Olmedo allowed the two women to share with the court the trauma and shame that Masterson’s actions caused them. The experience was particularly difficult for the victims during the court proceedings. This had to be repeated after the jury failed to reach agreement in the first trial. For the second trial, the composition of the jury was changed and now consisted of seven women and five men. In late May, a unanimous verdict was reached: Masterson was guilty of crimes committed at his Hollywood Hills residence at the height of his fame.
“Mr Masterson, I know you maintain your innocence, but you are not the victim here. His actions 20 years ago took decisions and voices away from other people. His actions 20 years ago were criminal. And that’s why you’re here today,” Judge Olmedo said after his sentencing. The rapist, who has been in prison for three months, showed no reaction to his victims when they spoke. Shawn Holley, the actor’s attorney, had told the judge that her client would not speak. His defense tried to get a new trial, the third, last week, asking that the sentence for both counts be 15 years. Both were rejected.
Prosecutors argued during the trial that the TV star used the Church of Scientology to evade justice. One of his victims, Jennifer B., who had been part of the community led by David Miscavige, today reminded the court of the legal agreement Masterson signed of her with powerful Hollywood attorney Marty Singer to settle in exchange for one million dollars are silent. “Today I am here to say that I have not governed myself very well,” he said in reference to that contract. He assured that it would not be easy to uncover Scientology’s attempts at manipulation and control. “They were full of attempts to silence us, intimidate us and even hinder us,” he said in his 15-minute testimony.
However, the church notes that it has no internal policies prohibiting its members from reporting crimes or misconduct to authorities. Judge Olmedo spoke this Thursday about the legal settlement that Masterson reached with one of his victims, Jennifer B.: “It is a lot of money for an incident that you claim did not take place.”
Prosecutors used the same legal strategy in both trials. The prosecution insisted on the facts. Masterson assaulted women in his apartment between 2001 and 2003. To facilitate the abuse, the actor allegedly mixed drugs into his guests’ drinks, a method also used by comedian Bill Cosby. “He did it to deprive his victims of the opportunity to consent,” said Ariel Anson, one of the prosecutors. There were no toxicology tests during the trial to support the victims’ statements. The police investigation began 15 years after the events. The defense tried unsuccessfully to have this argument rejected for lack of evidence. The attorneys did not call witnesses or put Masterson on the stand to defend his alleged innocence.
The robe-clad Olmedo assured this Thursday that the verdict against Masterson was not given because of “rumors, gossip or speculation,” but because 12 people believed in the evidence presented. In May it took seven days, spread over two weeks, for the jury to reach an agreement in its deliberations. They caught up with him in two of the three cases heard in court. Victims Jennifer B., N. Trout and Chrissy B. testified about what they experienced 20 years ago with the actor who gave birth to Stephen Hyde on the television sitcom that aired from 1998 to 2006.
The jury agreed with the first two women’s allegations, but not the third, Chrissy. She had a relationship with Masterson for five years. One day, she testified, she woke up and realized the actor was abusing her, so she must have pulled his hair to get him off her back. Eight jurors voted for the indictment, but unanimity was not achieved.
One of the victims on Thursday called Masterson a “pathetic man” who “has shown not an ounce of remorse for the pain he caused.” “I know he should be behind bars for the safety of all the women he had contact with,” she added on the day her rapist lost his freedom for the next 30 years.