Police first arrested Danny Masterson in 2020 on allegations he drugged and raped three women between 2001 and 2003 but the first trial ended in a deadlocked jury and mistrial. In a second trial held in 2023, a jury of seven women and five men convicted him on charges related to two of the three women. Judge Charlaine Olmedo, who oversaw both trials, sentenced Masterson to serve 30 years to life for his crimes. Like Masterson, a life-long Scientologist, his victims were also part of the religious organization. Prosecutors in the case said the church shielded Masterson and prevented the women from coming forward for years. This may have been due in part to Scientology’s conflicting message to its members about reporting crimes. The organization has denied this.
Masterson requested the court allow him to remain free while he appealed the convictions but Judge Olmedo denied the motion, calling him a flight risk since the “defendant has no wife to go home to,” among other reasons (via the New York Daily News). During both trials, his then-wife, actor Bijou Phillips, stood by Danny Masterson’s side. She sent a heartfelt letter to the court asking for leniency for Masterson before his sentencing. “I can say that Danny has literally been a life-saving partner to me,” she wrote (via The Independent). But just days after the jury convicted Masterson of two counts of rape, Phillips filed for divorce.
