Actor Danny Masterson, known as the curmudgeon Steven Hyde on the sitcom ‘That ’70s Show,’ has been found guilty on most of the three rape charges filed against him in a Los Angeles courtroom. Following the verdict, Judge Charlaine Olemdo deemed him a runaway risk and had the actor handcuffed and taken into custody on Wednesday (5/31).
It was the second trial of the case, after the first was canceled due to lack of unanimity on the verdict. This time though, Danny Masterson was found guilty of “forced rape” of two of the victims identified as Jane Does, Jen B and NT. However, after more than a week of deliberations, the jury was deadlocked on the third charge, involving Jane Doe #3, aka Christina B.
The next hearing on the motions has been set for August 4, but the sentencing hearing has not yet been set. If he gets the maximum sentence, Masterson faces up to 30 years in prison on the two counts he was found guilty of.
Masterson sat expressionless as the verdicts were read. According to Deadline, his wife, Bijou Phillips, cried in court, while family members and legal team members were also visibly shaken. After Masterson’s arrest, his loved ones were left in shock in the courtroom.
The sexual assault allegations became public in 2017. At the time, Masterson pleaded not guilty and said the relationships were consensual. Despite this, Netflix fired the actor from the series ‘The Ranch’, in which he co-starred with actor Ashton Kutcher, who was also his co-star in ‘That ’70s Show’.
Danny Masterson was still the only core actor from ‘That ’70s Show’ not to be asked to reprise his role in the continuation of ‘That ’90s Show’, which released in January on Netflix.
That month, Ashton Kutcher spoke about his former colleague’s allegations in an interview with the American magazine Esquire in January of this year. “I feel sorry for anyone who feels violated in any way,” said Kutcher, known for his involvement in child abuse and sex trafficking drives.
In addition to Masterson, the Church of Scientology also played an important role in the process. The three accusers are former Scientologists who say they were threatened with excommunication if they went to the police to report their rapes against the actor, a prominent exponent of the sect.
In 2004, one of the accusers wrote a letter to the church’s international justice chief asking permission to charge Masterson. She said she was directed to a “class” on “repressive people,” instructed not to use the word “rape” and to omit references to Masterson, who was threatened with a gun.
This accuser eventually agreed to enter into a $400,000 non-disclosure agreement, which prevented her from speaking openly about the rape. But she was approached by the police in 2016 and ended up filing a civil lawsuit against the actor, seeking compensation. This process runs parallel to criminal complaints.
Source: Terra
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