2023-09-08 08:12:47
American actor Danny Masterson, prominent member of the Church of Scientology known for his role in the series That’70s Show, was sentenced to thirty years in prison – the maximum sentence – for two rapes by a Los Angeles court on Thursday September 7. During his trial in June, three women, also Scientologists, accused him of raping them at his Hollywood Hills home between 2001 and 2003. The jurors found in favor of two of them and did not reach the unanimity necessary to pronounce a verdict concerning the third.
“Mr. Masterson, you are not the victim”, declared Judge Charlaine Olmedo, pronouncing the sentence of the 47-year-old actor who has always proclaimed his innocence. She also ordered him to be placed on the sex offender register.
At the hearing, the prosecution considered that the actor had “drugged and raped” his victims. One of them reacted in court on Thursday, saying that the world is ” safer “ now that the actor is behind bars. ” You like (…) hurt women »added the victim, whose anonymity was preserved during the trial. “You lived your life behind a mask, like two people. But the real person is sitting here. »
Read also (2015): The documentary that overwhelms the Church of Scientology
The role of the Church of Scientology questions
Mr. Masterson’s defense, on the other hand, insisted that the plaintiffs’ version had evolved over the years and suggested that prejudice against Scientology could have motivated the trial. During a previous trial in November, a different jury refused to reach a verdict, failing to reach unanimity.
This affair, released in 2017 in the wake of the accusations against ex-producer Harvey Weinstein which gave birth to the #metoo movement, also raised questions about the role of the Church of Scientology. Two of the complainants notably assured that the organization, very well established in Los Angeles, had dissuaded them from contacting the police.
Known for his role in the series That’70s Show alongside Ashton Kutcher, he also more recently appeared with him in the Netflix series The Ranch, but was dropped in 2017 after the Los Angeles police confirmed they were investigating sexual assault accusations against him. After the actor’s arrest in June 2020, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced that it had dropped two other sexual assault charges against him, due to a lack of evidence and because the facts were time-barred. .
Read this 2018 article: #MeToo, from viral phenomenon to “female social movement of the 21st century”
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