Danny Masterson was sentenced on Thursday to 30 years in jail for raping two ladies at his Los Angeles house within the early 2000s. Masterson, 47, selected to not converse throughout the listening to — he did not testify in both trial. Choose Charlaine Olmedo introduced her determination following emotional statements from his victims and “verbally dismantled Masterson’s protection,” based on authorized journalist Meghann Cuniff.
“Mr. Masterson, you aren’t the sufferer right here. Your actions 20 years in the past took away one other particular person’s selection and voice. Your actions 20 years in the past at the moment had been prison, and that is why you might be right here,” Olmedo mentioned in courtroom.
Olmedo reportedly acknowledged how Masterson might be questioning “how one can be convicted of every cost of sexual incident occurring 20 years in the past” involving “a girl who you consider is disgruntled and has a vendetta in opposition to you.”
“You weren’t convicted on the testimony of 1 particular person,” the decide continued, based on Cuniff.
“You weren’t convicted primarily based on rumors, innuendo, gossip and hypothesis,” Olmedo added. “You had been convicted primarily based on proof that 12 individuals locally discovered to be credible. … You had been convicted as a result of every of the victims reported the rapes to somebody shortly after the rapes occurred.”
Masterson faces 30 years to life in jail. The decide denied the protection’s request that Masterson’s sentence be served concurrent as a substitute of consecutive, which means he’d be given a jail time period of solely 15 years. Masterson’s spouse, actress Bijou Phillips, who’s a widely known Scientologist, reportedly cried in courtroom initially of the listening to.
Two of Masterson’s victims gave emotional sufferer affect statements in courtroom earlier than Olmedo handed down the sentence.
“You relish in hurting ladies. It’s your habit. It’s with out query your favourite factor to do,” mentioned one of many ladies, recognized solely as N. Trout, reported Cuniff. (Per courtroom process, the accusers’ names had been withheld from the proceedings.)
“Life is treasured and fragile. Discover your coronary heart,” Trout continued. “Hearken to the brightness of nothing and get properly. I forgive you.”
Greatest recognized for enjoying Steven Hyde on That ’70s Present, the actor was charged with forcibly raping three ladies — N. Trout, Jennifer B. and Chrissy B — from 2001 to 2003. After a mistrial in 2022, prosecutors went again to courtroom earlier this 12 months, the place on Might 31, a second jury discovered Masterson responsible of sexually assaulting Jen B. and N. Trout. The panel was deadlocked, nonetheless, on the third rely involving Chrissy B, the actor’s longtime girlfriend.
Prosecutors learn a written assertion from Chrissy whereas Jennifer spoke in courtroom. Jennifer mentioned the LAPD’s years-long investigation into Masterson “wasn’t straightforward” and referred to as out the Church of Scientology for alleged interference.
“It has been crammed with makes an attempt to silence us all, to intimidate us and even hinder,” she mentioned, based on Cuniff. Jennifer famous how Masterson should face penalties as he is in a “actual courtroom,” not Scientology’s notorious Superstar Centre in Hollywood, Calif.
The Church of Scientology loomed giant over the proceedings and each trials. Masterson was protected by the church, based on his three accusers, all of whom had been former Scientologists. The ladies claimed they had been harassed and threatened by church officers after coming ahead to authorities, accusations refuted by the church, which claimed it was being falsely and unfairly attacked by prosecutors.
Leah Remini, who’s suing the church and its chief, David Miscavige, was in attendance at Thursday’s sentencing. The actress famously left Scientology in 2013 and has been one of many group’s most outspoken critics. Masterson’s authorized group accused Remini of convincing the three ladies to falsely accuse the actor of rape, which she has denied.
“Sorry, Leah’s not behind this,” Jennifer declared in courtroom.
In the long run, the ladies’s highly effective statements helped punctuate a case six years within the making and put Masterson behind bars for many years to return.
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