2023-05-31 23:40:02
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A jury convicted “That ’70s Show” actor Danny Masterson of two counts of rape Wednesday in a new trial in Los Angeles in which the Church of Scientology played a central role.
The jury made up of seven women and five men reached the verdict after deliberating for seven days spread over two weeks. They were unable to reach a verdict on the third count, which alleged that Masterson raped a girlfriend with whom he had a longstanding relationship. They voted 8-4 to convict him.
Masterson left the courtroom in handcuffs. The 47-year-old actor faces up to 30 years in prison.
His wife, actress and model Bijou Phillips, wept as he was led away. Other relatives and friends remained seated expressionless.
Prosecutors, who retried Masterson after a jury failed to reach a verdict in December, claimed he forcibly raped three women, including his girlfriend, at his Hollywood Hills home between 2001 and 2003. They told the jury who drugged them with drinks to be able to rape them. They also noted that he used his prominence in the church, to which all three women belonged at the time, to avoid consequences for decades.
Masterson did not testify and his attorneys did not call witnesses. The defense argued that the acts were consensual and tried to discredit the testimonies of the women, highlighting inconsistencies and changes in their versions over time, which they said showed signs of coordination between them.
“If they decide that a witness deliberately lied about something in this case,” defense attorney Philip Cohen told the jury in his closing argument, “then they should consider not believing anything the witness says.”
#Actor #Danny #Masterson #guilty #rape