That '70s Show star Danny Masterson sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for raping 2 women
By Emlyn Travis - Entertainment Weekly
Danny Masterson, the actor best known for playing Steven Hyde on That '70s Show, was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison on Sept. 7 for forcibly raping two women after being found guilty in a retrial earlier this year.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo handed down the sentence to the 47-year-old actor after the two women Masterson was convicted of raping addressed the court, per the Associated Press.
The actor's brother, Malcolm in the Middle star Chris Masterson, and actress Leah Remini, a former Scientologist-turned-activist, were in the courtroom for the sentencing.
Masterson was first arrested in June 2020 and charged with raping three women in separate incidents between 2001 and 2003. The actor, who pleaded not guilty and previously denied all of the allegations against him, was later released after he posted bond on his $3.3 million bail.
His first rape trial, which began in October 2022, was declared a mistrial that November after its jury was unable to reach a final verdict on the three counts after seven attempts and a week-long break for Thanksgiving. The decision was further complicated by two of its jurors testing positive for COVID-19, requiring them to both be replaced.
A second jury found Masterson guilty of two counts of rape, but remained deadlocked on the third count, in a subsequent retrial in May 2023. Masterson did not testify during the trial, but his wife, actress Bijou Phillips, reportedly let out a cry in the courtroom when the verdict was revealed.
Although not directly involved, the Church of Scientology had a heavy presence in both trials, as Masterson and the women involved were all members of the church when the assaults occurred. In addition to the trial, the women also filed a civil lawsuit against the church and Masterson in August 2019, which alleges that the actor stalked them after they reported his crimes to the police. That case is still ongoing.
Masterson starred on That '70s Show for all eight seasons between 1998 and 2006. He is the only member of the original cast who did not appear on Netflix reboot That '90s Show. His character was never mentioned on the show, which aired earlier this year. He also starred on Netflix's The Ranch, but was fired after rape allegations were first made against him in 2017, and his character was subsequently written off the show.
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