Danny Masterson, Church of Scientology sued for alleged rape cover-up and stalking
Masterson tells Fox News that the claims are 'beyond ridiculous' and that he intends to sue his accusers for damage caused to him and his family; Christina Coleman reports from Los Angeles.
- Three women were allegedly drugged and later raped at the home of "That ‘70s Show" star Danny Masterson in Los Angeles, California.
- The second rape trial for Danny Masterson will begin closing arguments Tuesday following a first trial where jurors deadlocked on all three counts of sexual assault.
- If convicted on all three counts of rape, Masterson will receive 45 years in prison.
Closing arguments are expected to begin Tuesday at the second trial of "That ’70s Show" actor Danny Masterson, who is charged with raping three women at his Los Angeles home between 2001 and 2003.
Attorneys for both sides rested their cases Friday, three weeks into the trial. Masterson's defense attorneys declined to call any witnesses.
The 47-year-old’s first trial ended in a mistrial in December, with jurors hopelessly deadlocked on all three counts.
‘THAT ‘70S SHOW’ ACTOR DANNY MASTERSON DRUGGED 3 WOMEN BEFORE RAPING THEM, LA PROSECUTOR SAYS
Danny Masterson appears at the CMT Music Awards in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 7, 2017. Closing arguments are expected to begin Tuesday at the second rape trial of the "That ’70s Show" actor. (Wade Payne/Invision/AP, File)
The actor has pleaded not guilty. He could get 45 years in prison if convicted on all three counts.
The Church of Scientology, of which Masterson is a member and all three women are former members, has played an even larger role in the second trial than it did in the first. The judge allowed a former member of the church's leadership to testify as an expert on the institution's policies about going to police, and a courtroom controversy broke out during the trial over a Scientology attorney apparently having possession of trial evidence.
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The women testified that church officials kept them from going to authorities as soon as they would have about Masterson. The church has denied having any policies forbidding members from reporting other members to law enforcement.
Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo also allowed the prosecution to directly say that Masterson drugged each of the victims. Olmedo only allowed secondary evidence of it at the first trial.
Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller will be first to give a closing argument in the downtown Los Angeles courtroom Tuesday morning. He will try to convince the jury to unanimously convict Masterson after failing to get even half of the jurors at the first trial to vote guilty on any count.
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