This week, That ’70s Show and The Ranch actor (and lifelong Scientologist) Danny Masterson was convicted on two counts of rape two decades after the crimes in question. The verdict also arrived seven days after a jury began deliberations and nearly a decade after his accusers battles had begun. It’s been quite a winding saga, too. Masterson’s victims maintained that they’d been silenced by Scientology through various manners of harassment and stalking, and the actor was not formally charged with three rape counts until 2020. He had been dropped from Netflix’s The Ranch two years prior, and the allegations had been ricocheting around the LA county court system, stalling time and time again for several years.
This trial was actually a retrial, too, given that a former jury deadlocked on the three charges in 2022. This time around, the jury deadlocked on one count but found Masterson guilty “of raping two women in 2003,” as initially reported by Variety. He now faces a maximum sentence of 30 years to life behind bars.
What’s next for Masterson? Obviously, it’s not good for him. Entertainment Tonight reported that Masterson’s wife, fellow Scientologist Bijou Phillips, “let out a wail” upon the verdict with the judge reprimanding her (and instructing her to leave the courtroom if she could not do so). Masterson was then handcuffed in the courtroom and “immediately remanded into custody,” where he will remain without bail until sentencing, due to “posing a flight risk.”
As People further reveals, Masterson’s next court hearing will occur on August 4. Although he pleaded not guilty throughout his case (while asserting that he only had consensual sex with the accusers), no public mention has been made regarding an appeal. During this retrial as well, Masterson’s attorneys called no witnesses in his defense.
Deadline previously reported that sketchy business appears to have gone down with the L. Ron Hubbard-founded Scientology during the proceedings:
Somehow a lawyer representing the David Miscavige-led church, which is not a defendant in this criminal case, has come into possession of a large swath of the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office’s discovery material in this matter. Going off like a legal landmine, the revelation might see the prosecution referring the leak of sorts to the LAPD and perhaps even the state bar.
And here’s Scientology’s official statement on the verdict via TV Line:
The prosecution’s introduction of religion into this trial was an unprecedented violation of the First Amendment and affects the due process rights of every American. The Church was not a party to this case and religion did not belong in this proceeding as Supreme Court precedent has maintained for centuries. The District Attorney unconscionably centered his prosecution on the defendant’s religion and fabrications about the Church to introduce prejudice and inflame bigotry. The DA elicited testimony and descriptions of Scientology beliefs and practices which were uniformly FALSE. The Court’s statement of Church doctrine was her own invention, DEAD WRONG, and blatantly unconstitutional. The Church has no policy prohibiting or discouraging members from reporting criminal conduct of anyone—Scientologists or not—to law enforcement. Quite the opposite, Church policy explicitly demands Scientologists abide by all laws of the land. All allegations to the contrary are totally FALSE. There is not a scintilla of evidence supporting the scandalous allegations that the Church harassed the accusers. Every single instance of supposed harassment by the Church is FALSE, and has been debunked.
It’s more than worth noting that ex-second-generation Scientologist Leah Remini celebrated the verdict with “relief” in a lengthy post, including the following sentiments:
To Chrissie Bixler, whose count ended in a hung jury, I know Danny raped you; I know that Scientology tried to destroy you. However, this case would not have moved forward and resulted in two guilty verdicts if it were not for you. I am sorry you didn’t receive a guilty verdict on your charges; you deserved one. But please never forget that justice would not have been served if it were not for you.
Although Scientology and its leader, David Miscavige, were not formal defendants, they played a significant role in obstructing justice in this case and other instances of sexual violence.
Remini has been instrumental in the public awareness of this ongoing case. She previously interviewed Masterson’s accusers on her Scientology and the Aftermath series, and she has vowed to never stop fighting against the church. And she sure won’t be stopping now.