One of the women had beenMastersons longtime girlfriend. As in the previous Mr Masterson, who is best known for his role in the sitcom That 70s Show, was accused of raping three women at his home in Hollywood in the early 2000s. The Court either did not read them in full or ignored them. She spoke to her mom about how her date with Masterson went, she spoke to her friends, she did not ever say to one person, I was drugged. Never, Cohen said. asserted of the assaults that Christina B allegedly suffered from her then-boyfriend. In a statement provided to BuzzFeed News on behalf of the law firm Boies Schiller Flexner, two of the women and one of their husbands said they were "completely committed" to participating and testifying in the next trial against Masterson. All Rights Reserved. But in a potentially significant shift, the judge, Charlaine F. Olmedo, has allowed prosecutors to tell jurors directly that Masterson had drugged his three accusers, The Associated Press reported. One of three women to accuse actor Danny Masterson of rape testified about the alleged assault and said the Church of Scientology tried to discourage her from reporting the incident to police. Us confirmed in January 2021 that Masterson pleaded not guilty to all of the rape charges against him. Discovery Company. There are a couple of pieces of testimony that [Assistant D.A. write-up and suggested the church document amounted to an admission by the woman that her encounter with Masterson had been consensual and driven by her promiscuity. An appeals court ruled in January 2022 that Mastersons accusers do not have to take their case to a religious arbitration panel run by the Church of Scientology after claiming in a civil suit that Masterson and Miscavige stalked and harassed them. In June 2020, a source exclusively told Us that Masterson had a robust defense prepared after being charged with three counts of rape. The judge, however, called the request an overt attempt to obtain privileged information in LAPD files and denied access to the files. All three women testified at the preliminary hearing, where the judge ruled that prosecutors had enough evidence for the case to go to trial. Danny Masterson told a judge on Monday that he would not testify in his own defense as his rape trial nears its conclusion. She testified she had set boundaries and was clear there was to be no sex. 1, aka Jen B, and the other women including Jane Doe No. Masterson, a prominent Scientologist who is best known for playing Steven Hyde on That '70s Show, attempted to keep the church out of the trial. "And while there was disagreement as to the ultimate vote, on one thing the jurors all appeared to agree no reasonable jury was ever going to come to a unanimous finding on guilty on any count," Masterson's attorneys wrote. On Wednesday,Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Muellerdenied a request to throw the case away and confirmed there will be a retrial. Things took another tense turn this morning when lead defense lawyer Phillip Cohen sought to have the Jane Does referred to as accusers, not victims. Actor Danny Masterson is arraigned on three rape charges in separate incidents in 2001 and 2003, at Los Angeles Superior Court, Los Angeles, California, Jury selection is set to begin on March 29. A judge rejected Mastersons request for a variety of subpoenas in August 2021 after his legal team asked for information related to Reminis anti-Scientologist TV show, in addition to anything about church leader David Miscavige and his wife, Shelly. The case will be retried in April 2023. A veteran of O.J. When it was his turn to question the woman, Deputy Dist. Danny Masterson, the former star of "That '70s Show," will face a second trial on rape charges. Judge Charlaine Olmedo expressed a desire to pursue justice in a statement during the hearing, according to The Wrap. Not giving these victims another chance with a jury who can sit there and consider all of the evidence win, lose, or draw that would be an injustice, Mueller said. Masterson was, however, accused of sexually assaulting a 23-year-old woman between January and December 2001, a 28-year-old woman in April 2003 and a 23-year-old woman between October and December 2003 in his home. Based on pretrial rulings in this retrial, Scientology is certain to be a significant thrust of the prosecutions case. VideoThe secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, LGBT troops take love for Eurovision to front line, Why an Indian comedian is challenging fake news rules. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Masterson has not been charged with assaulting Kathy J. Actor Leah Remini, a former Scientologist who has become the church's most prominent detractor on social media and through a TV series she hosted featuring dissident ex-members, sat in the front row of the courtroom in support of Mastersons accusers. We won't post to any of your accounts without asking first. A source at the Los Angeles District Attorneys office exclusively told Us in February 2018 that despite the heinous sexual misconduct claims against Masterson, the DAs office was not ready to press charges. All I seek is justice and to prevent this from ever happening to anyone else as it has for some time. Specifically, the lawyer sought to shred the discrepancies between what Jen B told officers about a gun Masterson had in a bedside drawer and what exactly occurred when the defendant took it out after the alleged rape. Masterson, 47, could get 45 years in prison if convicted. All of the alleged crimes took place at Mastersons Hollywood Hills home, authorities said at the time. Danny Masterson appears in court on rape charges, That '70s Show star charged with raping three women, More than 20,000 Russians dead in Bakhmut, US says, France May Day protests leave dozens of police injured, Fighter jets are roaring over my home in Sudan. When a woman explained during her testimony that wog-law is the churchs disdainful term for police and courts, Olmedo asked if Scientologists refer to nonmembers as wogs, much like wizards in the fictional universe of Harry Potter call non-magical people muggles., I suppose, the woman responded. Amid his legal issues, the Chicago 8 actor and his wife, Bijou Phillips, listed their Los Angeles five-bedroom home in August 2021 for $6.9 million. We want a jury that is not contaminated by negative media coverage, and in the interest of fairness, Mesereau said at the time. Most populous nation: Should India rejoice or panic? The prosecutions opening statement is anticipated to concluded after the courts regular morning break, with the defense set to beginning their opening statement later today. Danny Mastersonwill have to return to court to resolve his rape caseafterajudge declared a mistrial in November. The jury in the previous trial were not able to reach that verdict, with the deadlocked case declared a mistrial. Were going to work out how you can not lose your daughter, the attorney told the womans father, according to her testimony. Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller told the court Tuesday that his office intends to pursue a second trial against Masterson, who is charged with three counts of rape by force or fear for allegedly sexually assaulting three women at his Hollywood Hills home in 2001 and 2003. A deadlocked jury led In November 2022, the jury was unable to come to a unanimous vote on the three charges Masterson faced causing the judge to declare it a mistrial. It has hired private detectives to keep tabs on straying members, and experts say its lawyers vigorously defend against legal incursions, arguing to judges that Scientologys beliefs are not courtroom fodder. The weekslong trial featured graphic testimony from the three women Masterson was charged with raping and a fourth woman who also accused him of sexual assault, as well as extensive discussion about the Church of Scientology. Prosecutors said they plan to retry Masterson on the same counts. Masterson, 46, was charged with the rape of three women, including a former girlfriend, in his Hollywood Hills home between 2001 and 2003. Although Judge Olmedo repeatedly said in the first trial that Scientology was not a defendant in the criminal case, the church, its policies and an alleged cover-up of the alleged rapes were brought up frequently by the D.A.s office today. Explore in 3D: The dazzling crown that makes a king. Cohen told jurors that another of the women, a young actress who spent an evening alone with Masterson at his house in 2003, made no mention of drugging at the time. Testimony at Mastersons preliminary hearing at times was as much an explanation of the churchs processes and cryptic vocabulary as an accounting of the actors alleged sexual abuse. A retrial is underway on charges that the actor from That 70s Show raped three women in the early 2000s. We want a fair trial and an unbiased jury. Its an area Cohen often struggled to find a consistent tone for during the last trial. She reported the assault to the Toronto Police Department in October 2021, after her niece told her that she had been roofied at a bar, which prompted Kathy to think about what the defendant had done to her, prosecutors wrote. "Try as Masterson's team might to keep that evidence out, I think it's inevitable that it will become an element in the trial, and the prosecution will likely use this to their benefit to explain the extremely long delay in reporting these allegations to law enforcement," Joshua Ritter, a defense attorney and former Los Angeles County prosecutor, said in a statement to Us. Frequently interrupted by sustained objections from Mueller, Cohen went into an expectations game of what Jane Doe No 1, aka Jen B, will say about the alleged sexual assault more than 20 years ago at Mastersons Hollywood Hills home. However, this time it was the actors ex-girlfriend Christina B as opposed to Jen B, who was called on October 18 in the previous trial. write-ups. A prosecutor repeatedly evoked books and letters written by Hubbard. Simpsons so-called Dream Team, plus legal battles for seemingly lost causes like Lindsey Lohan, the Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump Holley LLP partner could prove a decisive factor for the defense, especially when it comes to questioning Mastersons accusers on the stand. Not because of Mr. Mastersons celebrity status, but because of the heinous allegations by the alleged victims., The insider added: This is a high-profile case, and it needs to be airtight before any decision is made about charging Danny Masterson.. Masterson's attorney, Philip Cohen, said in the defense opening statement that those hazy stories and assertions are all the prosecution has, and he told jurors, there is no drugging charge in this case.. Masterson played Jameson Rooster Bennett on the Netflix series for three seasons alongside former That 70s Show costar Ashton Kutcher before he was fired in the wake of his sexual assault allegations. Prosecutors have indicated that they might call a former church member, Claire Headley, to testify as an expert witness about Scientologys practices and policies. She also said she was required to complete an ethics course because she had done something to deserve what [Masterson] did to me.. Mr Masterson, who is best known for his role in the The Times generally does not name victims of alleged sexual assault unless they choose to fully identify themselves. Mastersons lawyers wrote in court documents that Kathy J.s testimony should be excluded from the retrial because the recent disclosure that she could be a witness prevents Masterson from fully investigating, preparing for and defending against her 23-year-old allegation., What to Know About Danny Mastersons Second Rape Trial, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/26/us/danny-masterson-rape-trial.html. Discovery.). About 20 or 30 minutes later, she felt very disoriented, the brief states. Cohen said that prosecution expert Claire Headley, a former member of the church's leadership group, is someone who works to rid the world of Scientology, rid people of Scientology, and told jurors they were going to hear tremendous bias in her testimony. "Not giving these victims another chance with a jury who can sit there and consider all of the evidence win, lose or draw that would be an injustice.". Im not going to fight my ex-girlfriend in the media like shes been baiting me to do for more than two years. The churchs doctrine generally dismisses government institutions like courts as invalid and directs members to deal with complaints internally, said Rinder, who described himself as having worked closely with L. Ron Hubbard, the late science fiction author who founded the church. Mastersons former girlfriend said she did so after telling her story to her husband, who helped her understand that she had been raped. According to Variety, the jurors had leaned toward acquittal on all three counts, but Mueller argued on Tuesday that the jury had ignored supporting testimony. The fact that its Danny Masterson from That 70s Show its not just local media reporting on a local case, it blows it up way bigger. His attorneys recently filed court papers asking Judge Charlaine Olmedo to dismiss the charges. Masterson has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Singers testimony was delayed again and again by other matters in the case, and the attorney never ended up testifying. In that case, a jury found Kenneth Wayne Thompson carried out the slayings to protect his nephew from receiving psychiatric treatment, which his attorneys argued is barred by the churchs doctrines. At the time, Masterson said he was obviously very disappointed by the decision, in a statement to CNN. Its not a nice thing.. Actor Danny Masterson drugged then raped three women at his Hollywood-area home between 2001 and 2003, a prosecutor told jurors Monday in his opening There is no drug charge, the lawyer said, ripping into the date-rape drug claims that Mueller put front and center in his own opening statement. Send us a tip using our annonymous form. Masterson, a 46-year-old longtime adherent of the Church of Scientology, is charged with three counts of rape by force or fear involving the three women. A fifth woman came forward in December 2017, claiming that while she was dating the actor, he repeatedly raped her. Hyde also isnt included in a flashback sequence of the OG characters in the Formans infamous basement and his absence isnt addressed. Masterson would co-star with Kutcher again on Netflixs The Ranch. He also had a role on TBSs Men at Work. (TBS, like CNN, is owned by Warner Bros. Four women claimed in March 2017 that the That 70s Show alum sexually assaulted them in the early 2000s. 1. Jurors heard testimony about the churchs origins, and how members use a polygraph-like E-meter during a process meant to lead to spiritual clarity. The four women up here, youre going to hear what it took for these women to get in court the limitations the church put on them, Mueller said, pointing at the composite picture on the video monitor just next to the jurors. Review: Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath is a compelling, if unsophisticated, investigation of church, Fathers memoir spurs Scientology leader David Miscavige to threaten lawsuit, When you make a movie about Scientology, Scientology comes to you: A walk with Louis Theroux through L. Rons hood. That '70s Show actor Danny Masterson pleads not guilty to rape charges. Concertgoer lets out a loud full body orgasm while L.A. Phil plays Tchaikovskys 5th, How Palm Springs ran out Black and Latino families to build a fantasy for rich, white people, 17 SoCal hiking trails that are blooming with wildflowers (but probably not for long! Masterson is charged with three counts of rape by force or fear, which could mean up to 45 years in prison if convicted. PREVIOUSLY, 10:32 AM: This case is about the forcible rape of three women, Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller said in his opening statement Monday in Danny Mastersons retrial on multiple rape charges. "I went unconscious. A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge declared a mistrial in the rape trial of actor Danny Masterson on Wednesday after jurors remained deadlocked, the Los Angeles County District Attorneys office said. Masterson was charged in 2020 with forcibly raping three women in separate incidents occurring between 2001 and 2003, CNN previously reported. After less than three days of deliberations by the jury, The accusers claimed that Masterson and the church engaged in stalking, physical invasion of privacy and conspiracy to obstruct justice after the women reported their allegations against the New York native to the Los Angeles Police Department in 2016 and 2017. A judge declared a mistrial following the That '70s Show actor's first trial in November after jurors said they were deadlocked on three counts of rape. The show also starred Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, Laura Prepon and Wilmer Valderrama. After the morning recess and before the 90-minute lunch break, Mueller had continued his vivid opening statement, albeit with a bit less fuel than earlier. This is an ongoing article that was originally published in January 2022 and last updated in April 2023. Credit: LUCY NICHOLSON/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock. Updated LOS ANGELES A judge declared a mistrial Wednesday at the rape trial of That 70s Show actor Danny Masterson after jurors, who were leaning strongly toward However, we are collectively resolved to continue our fight for justice., Alleged victim testifies: Danny Masterson accuser alleges 2003 rape, says actor choked her. But prosecutors wrote that her testimony and that of another accuser who testified at the first trial bolster the credibility of the women in the case by showing that Masterson performed similar acts on other women. The Men at Work alum has maintained his innocence since the allegations first surfaced, telling Us Weekly in a statement in December 2017, From day one, I have denied the outrageous allegations against me. A Warner Bros. A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge declared a mistrial in the rape trial of actor Danny Masterson on Wednesday after jurors remained deadlocked, the Los Angeles County District Attorneys office said. Law enforcement investigated these claims more than 15 years ago and determined them to be without merit., Masterson continued: I have never been charged with a crime, let alone convicted of one. But the institution and its practices took center stage as the three women, who are all former Scientologists, testified about how church officials allegedly tried to shield the actor from accountability. If the inclusion of date-rape drugs to the case was a new move, the role of Scientology was not, though even the way the church was introduced tpday was noticeably different. Both prosecutors and church lawyers opposed the strategy to involve Scientology in the case, but a judge allowed it. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 45 years to life in prison. My truth will be heard., Riales also showed Chrissie Carnell Bixler, who is one of Mastersons exes and another accuser, support, tweeting, I applaud her strength as well #metoo #sisters.. Following his arrest in June 2020, Mastersons attorney Tom Mesereau told CNN: Mr. Lawyers for Mr Masterson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Associated Press. Even before todays proceedings formally kicked off, there was some high Scientology drama in Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedos courtroom. I stayed quiet long enough. (Update 4:11 PM: The defenses opening statement ended mere minutes after the court reconvened from its afternoon break. The LAPDs investigation was prompted by multiple police reports and journalist Tony Ortegas report of three womens alleged accounts of rape, sodomy or sexual assault, which he posted on his blog, The Underground Bunker. After the lunch break, Mueller wrapped his opening statement to tell the jurors of expert witnesses who will be testifying about date-rape drug symptoms and forensic psychology, among other topics. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Testimony will resume tomorrow at 9 AM.). Mueller also told jurors that the women did not immediately go to authorities because they were told not to by officials in the Church of Scientology, and they were told what happened to them was not rape. Debate about the churchs role figured prominently in the first trial and could play a larger role in the retrial. The accusations were made in 2017, during the #MeToo movement which saw many Hollywood stars accused of sexual assault. The retrial is expected to last more than a month. According to Deadline, the first of Masterson's three accusers whose names are not public testified on October 19. Bijou Phillips, after a judge declared a mistrial in his rape case on Nov. 30, 2022. At last years preliminary hearing, she testified that they were five years into a relationship when she woke to Masterson raping her one night in 2001. Mastersons family members and a large entourage of well-dressed Scientologists had been lingering at the courthouse since Wednesday morning awaiting the verdict. who are also engaged in a civil suit against him. 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Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much Seeking to taint the scene for the prosecution before testimony begins, the tactic certainly proved a welcoming spoiler for the defense last time, and they are clearly betting history will repeat itself. Scientology is not a defendant just Masterson, he also stated, much as he did in longtime church member Mastersons previous trial last year. The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure. Video, The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, More than 100 police hurt in French May Day protests, MasterChef Australia host Jock Zonfrillo dies, Explosion derails train in Russian border region, Street piano confiscated as public 'break rules', Trump rape accuser returns to witness stand, US rock band Aerosmith announce farewell tour, Father tells how gunman opened fire on Texas home, Disney faces countersuit in feud with Florida. We want to hear from you! If convicted in the retrial, Masterson could face 45 years to life in prison. Masterson, 47, who also appeared in the Netflix comedy The Ranch, has been charged with raping three women at his home in the Hollywood Hills in the early 2000s. The three women who have accused Masterson of rape were identified in court by their first names and initials of their last names. Prosecutors did not file charges in two other cases because of insufficient evidence and the statute of limitations expiring. Another woman, who was born into Scientology and planned to report Masterson to police in 2004, a year after she said he raped her at his Hollywood mansion, recounted how a Scientology attorney showed up at her familys home. A retrial date has been set for March 29, beginning with jury selection. Opening statements in the trial began in October 2022. He argued the restrictions were needed because of religious bias that investigators from the Los Angeles Police Department and Mastersons accusers harbored against Scientology. Credit: Tyler Golden/Netflix/Kobal/Shutterstock, Masterson reacted to being ousted from The Ranch in December 2017, telling Us in a statement, I am obviously very disappointed in Netflixs decision to write my character off of The Ranch., He denied the outrageous allegations against him at the time, claiming, Law enforcement investigated these claims more than 15 years ago and determined them to be without merit. A different outcome at a retrial is at least a possibility.. Masterson, who has been free on bail since his 2020 arrest, sat at the defense table, with a large coterie of supporters behind him, many if not all church members, who also sat through his first trial. Jury selection in the retrial is set to begin March 29. a year after she said he raped her at his Hollywood mansion, In Danny Masterson rape case, accuser says Scientologists tried to protect actor. All three Jane Does in the case are former members of Scientology. The Church has strongly denied pressurising victims. "The jury focused on the most relevant evidence - the testimony and prior statements of the Jane Does and a strong majority reasonably concluded that this critical evidence established reasonable doubt," Cohen said in paperwork obtained by Deadline and Law & Crime last week.
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