- Bijou phillips and danny masterson 2017 rape full#
- Bijou phillips and danny masterson 2017 rape trial#
Olmedo allowed expert testimony on church policy from a former official in Scientology leadership who has become a prominent opponent.
Bijou phillips and danny masterson 2017 rape trial#
The Church of Scientology played a significant role in the first trial but arguably an even larger one in the second. "If you decide that a witness deliberately lied about something in this case," defense attorney Philip Cohen told jurors, going through their instructions in his closing argument, "You should consider not believing anything that witness says." The defense argued that the acts were consensual, and attempted to discredit the women's stories by highlighting changes and inconsistencies over time, which they said showed signs of coordination between them.
Masterson did not testify, and his lawyers called no witnesses. "Their courage and strength have been an inspiration to us all."
"We want to express our gratitude to the three women who came forward and bravely shared their experiences," Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement after the verdict Wednesday. They said he used his prominence in the church - where all three women were also members at the time - to avoid consequences for decades. They told jurors he drugged the women's drinks so he could rape them. "I am experiencing a complex array of emotions - relief, exhaustion, strength, sadness - knowing that my abuser, Danny Masterson, will face accountability for his criminal behavior," one of the women, whom Masterson knew as a fellow member of the church and was convicted of raping at his home in 2003, said in a statement.Ī second woman, a former girlfriend, whose count left the jury deadlocked, said in the statement: "While I'm encouraged that Danny Masterson will face some criminal punishment, I am devastated that he has dodged criminal accountability for his heinous conduct against me."Ī spokesperson for Masterson declined comment, but his attorneys will almost certainly appeal.Īfter a deadlocked jury led to a mistrial in December, prosecutors retried Masterson, saying he forcibly raped three women in his Hollywood Hills home between 20. No sentencing date has yet been set, but the judge told Masterson and his lawyers to return to court Aug. Masterson, 47, will be held without bail until he is sentenced. They had voted 8-4 in favor of conviction. They could not reach a verdict on the third count, that alleged Masterson raped a longtime girlfriend. The jury of seven women and five men reached the verdict after deliberating for seven days spread over two weeks. Masterson's wife, actor and model Bijou Phillips, gasped when the verdict was read and wept as he was taken into custody, while a group of family and friends who sat stone-faced behind him throughout both trials.
Bijou phillips and danny masterson 2017 rape full#
During the defense’s closing, Cohen told jurors that the women’s accounts are so full of inconsistencies that there is more than enough reasonable doubt for jurors to acquit Masterson.Ĭohen emphasized the lack of any physical evidence of drugging, with the investigation that led to Masterson’s arrest coming some 15 years after the alleged rapes.LOS ANGELES - "That '70s Show" star Danny Masterson was led out in handcuffs from a Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday and could get 30 years to life in prison after a jury found him guilty on two of three counts of rape at his second trial, in which the Church of Scientology played a central role. Masterson, 47, has pleaded not guilty to raping three women at his home between 20. Olmedo rejected the motion, saying that the prosecution was acting within the bounds of her pre-trial decision by allowing them to assert that the women were drugged. And he does it over and over and over again.”Īfter closing arguments, Masterson’s attorney Philip Cohen made a motion for a mistrial, one of several that he made during the three-week trial, because of the prosecution’s mention of drugging, which is not part of the charges.
“The defendant makes that choice for these victims. “You don’t want to have sex? You don’t have a choice,” Deputy District Attorney Ariel Anson told the jury.
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