Following his arrest in June 2020, Mastersons attorney Tom Mesereau told CNN: Mr. Expected to be in court every day, as he was in the five-week first trial, Masterson has been free on $3.3 million bail the past three years. One woman testified that she wrote a letter to an International Justice Chief, whom she described as the churchs ultimate authority on disputes between Scientologists, seeking permission to sue Masterson and report him to police. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Unlike the last trial, those drug claims were heavily articulated today by Mueller, who repeatedly noted how the Jane Does, all former Scientologists, complained of being disoriented after sipping a drink made for them by Masterson before the alleged sexual assaults. L.A. has a new answer. Were requesting that there be no media presence. The prosecutor, however, did not agree with Mastersons lawyers request and set a preliminary hearing for March of that year. Masterson was, however, accused of sexually assaulting a 23-year-old woman between January and December 2001, a 28-year-old woman in April 2003 and a 23-year-old woman between October and December 2003 in his home. He has denied the allegations and has pleaded not guilty. That 70s Show actor Danny Masterson is back on trial again. As in the previous trial, Monday saw Mastersons wife Bijou Phillips in the courtroom, along with others in the family like sister-in-law Mackenzie Phillips, friends and defense consultants. The LAPDs investigation was prompted by multiple police reports and journalist Tony Ortegas report of three womens alleged accounts of rape, sodomy or sexual assault, which he posted on his blog, The Underground Bunker. But the institution and its practices took center stage as the three women, who are all former Scientologists, testified about how church officials allegedly tried to shield the actor from accountability. With that said, and a very brief delay for an alternate juror to make it back to the courtroom, the former model barely had time to describe first meeting Masterson in the late 1990s before Judge Olmedo called an end to todays proceedings at 4 PM. Danny Mastersonwill have to return to court to resolve his rape caseafterajudge declared a mistrial in November. A different outcome at a retrial is at least a possibility.. At the time of the alleged incident, assistant prop master Jenkins while her husband was just down the hall. Signup for Breaking News Alerts & Newsletters. Singers testimony was delayed again and again by other matters in the case, and the attorney never ended up testifying. Masterson could face up to 45 years to a life sentence in state prison if convicted. His attorneys recently filed court papers asking Judge Charlaine Olmedo to dismiss the charges. Joining the returning Cohen at Mastersons table is the high-profile Holley, who took a leading role right away today. But prosecutors wrote that her testimony and that of another accuser who testified at the first trial bolster the credibility of the women in the case by showing that Masterson performed similar acts on other women. The accusers claimed that Masterson and the church engaged in stalking, physical invasion of privacy and conspiracy to obstruct justice after the women reported their allegations against the New York native to the Los Angeles Police Department in 2016 and 2017. appreciated. Its hard to imagine it now, but there was once a time when few Americans outside the Celebrity Centre knew what an E-meter was. Reinhold Mueller took the book from Mesereau and had it admitted into the court record. If youre a member of the church and you have an issue (like a rape) with another member you are not permitted to go to law enforcement, Mueller said of the churchs internal justice system. The prosecutor explained that if Christina B, or any church member for that matter, went to the police to report such an alleged crime, she would be declared a suppressed person and promptly excommunicated from Scientology. A retrial date has been set for March 29, beginning with jury selection. Prosecutors said they plan to retry Masterson on the same counts. When Masterson heard a man yelling in the house, he pulled a gun from his night stand and told her not to move or say anything, adding expletives, the document states. asserted of the assaults that Christina B allegedly suffered from her then-boyfriend. Danny Masterson trial for rape case ends: What was he accused of? Stephanie Baer is a reporter with BuzzFeed News and is based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The defense denies such evidence exists. Danny Masterson repeatedly raped me, Riales claimed via Twitter at the time. According to a trial brief filed by the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office in September, Masterson raped a woman, identified only as Jen B., in April 2003 after she went to his house to pick up keys and he gave her a red vodka drink. Mueller confirmed. Danny Masterson will be retried for three counts of rape after his case ended in a mistrial on Nov. 30. Danny Masterson trial for rape case ends: What was he accused of? Four women claimed in March 2017 that the That 70s Show alum sexually assaulted them in the early 2000s. The District Attorneys Office declined to file charges for two of the five alleged assaults due to insufficient evidence and statute of limitations. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. You pulled it in its your fault, Mueller told the jurors about how Christina B was admonished by a church ethics officer in which she confided. After less than three days of deliberations by the jury, Opening statements were read Oct. 18. 11:07 PM EST, Wed November 30, 2022. The first trial ended in November when the jury could not reach a verdict on the three counts of forcible rape that the actor faced, prompting a judge to declare a mistrial. Even before todays proceedings formally kicked off, there was some high Scientology drama in Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedos courtroom. Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo had ordered jurors to take Thanksgiving week off and keep deliberating after they said on Nov. 18 that they could not reach a consensus. We also want to give our heartfelt appreciation to the victims for bravely stepping forward and recounting their harrowing experiences. On trial now for the same trio of sexual assault charges a jury deadlocked over last fall, Masterson has beefed up his defense team in the interim. Did you encounter any technical issues? Mr Masterson, who is best known for his role in the sitcom That 70s Show, was accused of raping three women at his home in Hollywood in the early 2000s. As a result, Mr Masterson was written out of the Netflix show The Ranch. Opening statements in the trial began in October 2022. 2023 BBC. By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and that you have read our Privacy Policy. Its a new era. She would only mention thinking she had been drugged years later after the investigation began, Cohen said. LOS ANGELES (AP) Actor Danny Masterson drugged then raped three women at his Hollywood-area home between 2001 and 2003, a prosecutor told jurors Monday in his opening statement in the retrial of the star of That 70s Show.. This case is being taken very seriously and does have top priority within the sex crimes division of the office. Attorneys for both sides acknowledged that there is no forensic evidence of any substances Masterson may have given the women because the police investigation that led to the two trials did not begin until about 15 years after the events. They included his wife, model and actor Bijou Phillips; his sister-in-law, One Day at a Time actor Mackenzie Phillips; and his brother, Malcolm in the Middle actor Christopher Masterson. Danny Masterson. Motion hearings are scheduled for March 6 and March 27. The expert on the defense witness list is her father-in-law, a current high-level Scientologist. In the first trial, Hollywood lawyer Marty Singer was set to be called as a witness for his role in this portion of the matter; at the time, the pugilistic Singer was even seen seated in the 9th floor halls of the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center waiting to take the stand. A Judge Declared A Mistrial For Actor Danny Masterson, Who Was Accused Of Violently Raping Three Women, That 70s Show Actor Danny Masterson Didnt Care That The Women He Allegedly Raped Told Him No, Prosecutors Said During Closing Arguments, A Woman Who Said That 70s Show Actor Danny Masterson Raped Her Testified That She Thought He Was Going To Kill Her, Two Women Who Said That 70s Show Actor Danny Masterson Raped Them Were Pressured By Scientology To Stay Quiet, Prosecutors Said, discussion about the Church of Scientology. In May 2021, a judge ordered Masterson to stand trial on the rape charges made against him. Us Weekly has affiliate partnerships so we may receive compensation for some links to products and services. According to Deadline, the first of Masterson's three accusers whose names are not public testified on October 19. But Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo is allowing the direct assertion at the second trial. A fifth woman came forward in December 2017, claiming that while she was dating the actor, he repeatedly raped her. "We are pleased that Danny Masterson will not be permitted to simply escape criminal accountability," they said. 3, aka Christina B, who dated Masterson for several years, back in the late 1990s and early 2000s. While we are disappointed with the outcome in this trial, we thank the jurors for their service, the district attorneys office said in a statement. The retrial is expected to last more than a month. 5 min read. Actor Danny Masterson is arraigned on three rape charges in separate incidents in 2001 and 2003, at Los Angeles Superior Court, Los Angeles, California, Remini may also end up being a witness for the prosecution for Jane Doe No. Debate about the churchs role figured prominently in the first trial and could play a larger role in the retrial. All I seek is justice and to prevent this from ever happening to anyone else as it has for some time. 4, who is not among the three rape charges that make up this case, and portrayed her as a spurned one-night stand who wanted a relationship with Masterson. One woman testified that a church official instructed her to write a statement showing she would take responsibility for a 2001 assault, in which she alleges Masterson raped her while she was unconscious. Its a dishonest and hallucinatory publicity stunt.. As his criminal case continued to be investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department, Masterson was sued by four of his sexual assault accusers in civil court. Mr Masterson played the role of Steven Hyde in That 70s Show between 1998 and 2006, alongside Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis. Mr Masterson, who is best known for his role in the As they are expected to do this time round, the Cohen-led defense tried to varying degrees of failure to do everything they could to limit mention of the church. write-ups. A prosecutor repeatedly evoked books and letters written by Hubbard. Masterson, 47, who also appeared in the Netflix comedy The Ranch, has been charged with raping three women at his home in the Hollywood Hills in the early 2000s. While cross-examining one woman, he read from an O.W. The Times generally does not name victims of alleged sexual assault unless they choose to fully identify themselves. Interpretation of Church doctrine by the courts is prohibited and the ruling is evidence of why.. USA TODAY has reached out to Cohen for comment. While employing language similar in scope to what the prosecutor used in his first remarks in the former That 70s Show stars first trial last year that ended in a mistrial, Mueller strategically shifted tactics this time for a more visceral approach over what he believed happened to Jane Doe No. 2023 Deadline Hollywood, LLC. If convicted in the retrial, Masterson could face 45 years to life in prison. With Remini sitting in the front row surrounded by an entourage, Olmedo denied the request before the jury was brought into the packed courtroom. "The contradictory nature of their trial testimony is not going to credibly change. He wasnt charged with five counts because two of the womens cases had insufficient evidence and statutes of limitations. Within Scientology, this becomes panic stations, high alert.. The other two women were listed as Jane Doe #1 and Jane Doe #2. The mansion sold four months later for $6.2 million, according to Dirt. I stayed quiet long enough. She spoke to her mom about how her date with Masterson went, she spoke to her friends, she did not ever say to one person, I was drugged. Never, Cohen said. Mastersons friend, unhappy with the way the Scientology ethics board handled her complaint about him, filed a police report in 2004 that didnt result in charges. Going over the alleged rape of Jane Doe No. Masterson, 46, who has pleaded not guilty to three counts of forcible rape and remains free on $3.3 million bail, has denied all the allegations against him. Each would file a police report that year. Todays proceedings followed a week of jury selection, motions and other housekeeping. Mueller today also put focus for this jury on Kathleen Jenkins, who was not a part of the first trial. We also are thankful for the hard work of the prosecution team and we will now consider our next steps as it relates to prosecuting this case.. When it was his turn to question the woman, Deputy Dist. PREVIOUSLY, 10:32 AM: This case is about the forcible rape of three women, Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller said in his opening statement Monday in Danny Mastersons retrial on multiple rape charges. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? The charges in the retrial in Los Angeles Superior Court are the same as in the first trial. At last years preliminary hearing, she testified that they were five years into a relationship when she woke to Masterson raping her one night in 2001. Atty. He wasnt charged with five counts because two of the womens cases had insufficient evidence and statutes of limitations. It is unclear whether the defense will roll the dice and put Masterson on the stand to testify in his own defense. In November 2022, the jury was unable to come to a unanimous vote on the three charges Masterson faced causing the judge to declare it a mistrial. The drugging allegations had echoes of the trial of Bill Cosby, where women testified to similar experiences. We want a jury that is not contaminated by negative media coverage, and in the interest of fairness, Mesereau said at the time. Amid his legal issues, the Chicago 8 actor and his wife, Bijou Phillips, listed their Los Angeles five-bedroom home in August 2021 for $6.9 million. Scientology had managed to persuade courts that you cant inquire into our religious practices and beliefs and have managed to dissuade much discussion about Scientology, Rinder said. This was a stark contrast to the use of much more limited technology in the previous trial, which was minimal and lightly informative at best. Danny Masterson appears at an event in 2017. I will beat her in court and look forward to it because the public will finally be able to learn the truth and see how Ive been railroaded by this woman., A litigation attorney for the Church of Scientology also reacted to the lawsuit, telling Us in a statement, From everything we have read in the press, this baseless lawsuit will go nowhere because the claims are ludicrous and a sham. who are also engaged in a civil suit against him. That case is expected to restart again later this summer. Variety She reported the assault to the Toronto Police Department in October 2021, after her niece told her that she had been roofied at a bar, which prompted Kathy to think about what the defendant had done to her, prosecutors wrote. Unlike the past trial, former Scientologist Leah Remini was also in attendance today and that was a problem for the defense. The first trial ended in a hung jury in November. Im not going to fight my ex-girlfriend in the media like shes been baiting me to do for more than two years. In order to view the gallery, please allow Manage Cookies. The judge in the Danny Masterson rape trial declared a hung jury on Wednesday, after the jurors said they could not reach a verdict on any of the charges. The alleged incident occurred in the middle of their six-year relationship, after which she continued to be his longtime girlfriend., Credit: Greg Gayne/Netflix/Kobal/Shutterstock, As a result of ongoing discussions, Netflix and the producers have written Danny Masterson out of The Ranch, a spokesperson for the streaming company told Us in a statement in December 2017. This and many other similarities between the women's stories come from them talking to each other and cross-pollinating the details of their accounts, something they did multiple times even after the detective in the case warned them that such communication could taint the case against Masterson, Cohen said. In that case, a jury found Kenneth Wayne Thompson carried out the slayings to protect his nephew from receiving psychiatric treatment, which his attorneys argued is barred by the churchs doctrines. Mastersons ex-girlfriend Bobette Riales came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct in December 2017, bringing the count up to five women claiming the Beethovens 2nd actor allegedly assaulted them in the early 2000s. However, Judge Charlaine Olmedo said that the jurors have Masterson's attorney, Philip Cohen, said in the defense opening statement that those hazy stories and assertions are all the prosecution has, and he told jurors, there is no drugging charge in this case.. 2023 Cable News Network. said the ethics officer told Christina B, who was in a six-year relationship with Masterson, a second-generation Scientologist, and joined the church for him. I am also so thankful to the fans that have supported me and continue to do so, he added. All Rights Reserved. Three women took the stand to recount sexual assaults allegedly committed by the celebrity Scientologist, and each told similar stories of how church officials tried to stop them from reporting Masterson to police. Rinder is a co-executive producer with Remini of an A&E series about Scientology. She also pulled his hair, and he hit her, it states. In February 2022, the actor sought to have the criminal rape charges dismissed. The Times generally does not Scroll down for more details on Mastersons sexual assault case, trial and his ongoing civil lawsuit: The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure. I met with the LAPD. He has since pleaded not guilty after being charged in June 2020 with allegedly raping three women. Part of the a360media Entertainment Group. Victims are realizing they do have recourse, and they dont have to be afraid anymore.. Is climate change killing Australian wine? This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The Church of Scientology works hard to keep its inner workings out of the public eye. California governor's wife among Harvey Weinstein accusers in new L.A. trial. Why is Frank McCourt really pushing it? "Our office has decided to retry this case," Mueller told the courtroom, according to Variety. Victims are realizing they do have recourse, and they dont have to be afraid anymore. A retrial is underway on charges that the actor from That 70s Show raped three women in the early 2000s. Danny Masterson told a judge on Monday that he would not testify in his own defense as his rape trial nears its conclusion. 2. Masterson was charged with three counts of rape by force or fear, LA DA Jackie Lacey announced in June 2020, three years after he was first accused of sexual assault. Theyre here to seek justice, and Im confident that each of you will be able to render guilty on all counts.. Credit: Tyler Golden/Netflix/Kobal/Shutterstock, Masterson reacted to being ousted from The Ranch in December 2017, telling Us in a statement, I am obviously very disappointed in Netflixs decision to write my character off of The Ranch., He denied the outrageous allegations against him at the time, claiming, Law enforcement investigated these claims more than 15 years ago and determined them to be without merit. Masterson is a prominent member of the church. The evidence will show they were drugged, the prosecutor added of the three Jane Does at the heart of the Scientology spotlighting matter. Cohen told jurors that another of the women, a young actress who spent an evening alone with Masterson at his house in 2003, made no mention of drugging at the time.