OAN’s Abril Elfi
1:24 PM – Thursday, September 7, 2023
Actor Danny Masterson has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for two counts of convicted rape.
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On Thursday, after hearing testimonials from the victims regarding the trauma they had experienced, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo handed down a three decade sentence to the 47-year-old Church of Scientology member.
This past May, Masterson was convicted on two of three forcible rape charges.
He was accused of raping three women in his Hollywood Hills home between the years 2001 to 2003, while he played the character “Steven” on That 70’s Show, his most notable role.
The jury convicted him of raping two women in 2003, but the courts were unable to reach a decision on an allegation from November 2001 involving a previous lover while voting in favor of conviction.
At the sentencing hearing, the three women, who are also former members of the Church of Scientology, told the judge that Masterson’s acts had destroyed their lives and requested the judge to sentence him to life in prison.
According to reports, one of the victims called the actor “a true coward and heartless monster.”
Another said to Masterson from across the courtroom, “I still have to contend with what you did to me that night… That takes a life’s worth of therapy to repair. Every time I think I’m okay, that rape comes back to me.”
The third victim stated that she had been professionally diagnosed with PTSD after the event.
The judge sentenced Masterson to 15 years to life in prison on each of the two offenses, with both terms to be served consecutively.
“Mr. Masterson, you are not the victim here. Your actions 20 years ago took away another person’s voice and choice. Your actions 20 years ago were criminal, and that is why you are here,” Olmedo said.
The three victims stated that the church had discouraged them from reporting Masterson to the police.
Throughout the trial, prosecutors said that Masterson used his high position in the church to rape women without fear of repercussions, and that Scientology leaders forbade women from reporting sexual assault to authorities.
One of the unidentified victims also told the judge that she was a “brainwashed member” of Scientology at the time of her assault, and that the church made “concerted efforts” to cover up Masterson’s behavior.
She continued, saying that after coming forward with her charges against Masterson, she has: “had [her] privacy invaded almost daily by the cult of Scientology.”
The now-convicted actor did not testify during sentencing, and his attorneys did not call up any witnesses.
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