Dhe plan of the presiding judge, Charlaine Olmedo, not to let the rape trial against the American actor Danny Masterson escalate into a trial against Scientology has not worked out for the time being. Already on the first day of the trial in Los Angeles on Tuesday, there was a scandal when the public prosecutor repeatedly mentioned the organization in their opening statement.
Like the defendant, who is accused of sexual abuse and rape in 2001-2003, the three alleged victims belong or belonged to the organization. Scientology, prosecutor Reinhold Mueller told the jury, for example, played a role in the women’s late complaints.
The lawyer recalled the encounter of one of Masterson’s alleged victims with a leader of the cult. “You say it’s rape, but it’s not rape because he’s your significant other. In fact, you’re not even allowed to say the word ‘rape’,” the so-called supervisor is said to have warned the woman before forbidding her to go to the police.
If found guilty, Masterson faces 45 years in prison
The first alleged victim, who testified anonymously this week as Jane Doe No. 1, kept coming back to Scientology. The Church, as the organization is called by its followers, warned against “fraternization” with non-members. People who are not Scientologists are referred to as “wogs,” slang for pathogens or unwanted strangers.
Diving into the depths of the faith community founded more than 70 years ago by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard finally became too much for Judge Olmedo. “I can understand that the lives of the Witnesses were completely overshadowed by Scientology. But this process will not,” warned the lawyer. Masterson’s defense attorney, Philip Cohen, used the heated atmosphere at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center to file a mistrial motion. His client had been prejudiced against the controversial sect by statements made by the public prosecutor’s office and witnesses. However, Judge Olmedo denied the request.
Los Angeles County Attorneys have charged Masterson with drugging and raping the three alleged victims at his Hollywood Hills home about 20 years ago. If found guilty, he faces up to 45 years in prison. The women said they found themselves in the 46-year-old’s bed after he had taken a whirlpool bath with his semi-conscious alleged victims. Masterson, a Scientologist since childhood and at the time a leading actor in the series “That 70’s Show” alongside Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, was considered particularly party-loving, turning his house above the Sunset Strip into a private club.
On Wednesday, Jane Doe No. 1 tearfully told the jury how she woke up in the former child star’s bed in the spring of 2003 while he was penetrating her. When she tried to push him away with a pillow, he is said to have grabbed her wrist and neck. “I couldn’t breathe anymore. I thought I was going to die,” she testified.
Victim is said to have provoked attacks
A few months earlier, the defendant had allegedly had anal sex with the woman against her will. When she later sought advice from an ethics expert from the Scientology sect, he is said to have forced her to reconcile with Masterson. In the weeks that followed, during a so-called ethics course organized by the organization, she was allegedly persuaded that she had provoked the attack.
The first public allegations against Masterson were made in 2017. At that time, a former friend of the actor, one of the three witnesses, is said to have contacted other former partners and alleged victims. As the defense attorney Cohen accused them in his opening statement, they had colluded with each other. The lawyer dismissed her allegations of rape, which led to criminal charges as well as civil proceedings and fueled the MeToo movement, “as commercials of inconsistencies”.
Non-disclosure agreements should cover up abuse
Hollywood assessed the allegations differently. Following the women’s lawsuits, The Ranch producers removed Masterson from the scripts. At the end of 2017, the artist agency United Talent Agency separated from him. Three years later, investigations by the Los Angeles Police Department led to the arrest of the actor.
While Masterson maintained his innocence after being released on bail, his wife, “Almost Famous” actress and Scientologist Bijou Phillips, took to social media to retaliate. Jane Doe No. 1’s rape allegations are fictitious. Meanwhile, the alleged victim followed suit. At a hearing before the House of Representatives in Washington in early 2021, she reported on regulations within the Scientology organization that ran counter to American laws, including those on sex crimes.
The list of witnesses for the planned four weeks of the trial now includes the Elvis daughter and former Scientologist Lisa Marie Presley as well as the celebrity lawyer Marty Singer. On behalf of the religious community, the lawyer is said to have committed suspected abuse victims to secrecy – through the non-disclosure agreements that are widespread in Hollywood, which also helped Harvey Weinstein to cover up his crimes.