Danny Masterson Rape Conviction Sentencing REVEALED
By Kristin Myers on September 7, 2023 at 2:53 PM EDT
Actor Danny Masterson was sentenced on Thursday, September 7, 2023, after being found guilty of two counts of rape in a retrial.
The former “That ‘70s Show” actor was convicted by a Los Angeles jury of two counts of forcible rape in May after a retrial case involving three women. The third count against the third Jane Doe had been declared a mistrial and was dismissed after prosecutors declined to retry Masterson on the rape charge.
‘That ‘70s Show’ Actor Danny Masterson Sentenced After Being Found Guilty Of Two Counts Of Forcible Rape
On Thursday, September 7, 2023, Danny Masterson was sentenced to 30 years in prison after being found guilty of two counts of forcible rape.
Ahead of his sentencing, he was facing the possibility of thirty years to life in prison. He had been deemed a potential flight risk and had been remanded into custody following the guilty verdict.
Masterson had pleaded not guilty to three counts of felony rape. Three different women, including a former girlfriend, had come forward with the accusations, according to ABC News. The alleged attacks took place between 2001 and 2003. All three women were members of the Church of Scientology.
Masterson and his wife, Bijou Phillips, are also members of the Church of Scientology. They met at a celebrity poker game in 2004. At the time of the conviction, a source close to his wife told the Daily Mail that she was “stunned” by the jury’s conviction, saying that she was “convinced he was telling the truth and that the jury would agree.”
“The devastation and reality of it all are at a level that you'd never even imagine,” the insider continued. “She's had Danny's back through this whole process and never thought this would be the result.”
“Her life has completely changed knowing that her husband and the father of their daughter Fianna may be in jail for the rest of his life. It is to Bijou something that is catastrophic to her current way of life,” the source added. “She can't even make sense of it.”
Danny Masterson’s Wife Bijou Phillips ‘Feels Like She Is Grieving A Death’
Danny Masterson’s wife, Bijou Phillips, is the daughter of The Mamas & The Papas frontman John Phillips. A close friend told the Daily Mail that Phillips is trying to stay strong for the sake of their daughter, but “feels like she is grieving a death” ahead of her husband’s sentencing on Thursday morning.
Earlier this year, the socialite broke down in tears in a courtroom after a jury declared him guilty. Masterson was denied bail and was led away in handcuffs.
“Currently Bijou is circling the drain and is filled with all the emotion and no emotion at all,” the insider claimed. “She is a shell of who she has been. She is really trying to be strong for her daughter as she is trying to figure out life and what it will be like for her.”
“It can only be compared to a divorce or a death for her not being able to be with Danny the way they were,” they continued. “They had their life, and it has been completely uprooted and changed and change is as scary and miserable as one would imagine.”
The source went on to say: “Friends are trying to be there for her, but things are really tough. She is really trying to figure it all out and what her life will be like after all things are said and done. Whatever happens with Danny will change her life forever and, in a not-so-dignified word, it just sucks.”
According to the outlet, Masterson was held at the Los Angeles County Men’s Central Jail after the guilty verdict was read in May. According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, he was facing a potential sentence of 30 years to life in prison – 15 for each guilty charge. He will also have to register as a sex offender when or if he is ever released from prison.
Danny Masterson had been arrested in 2020 for the crimes. At the time, he insisted that each of the encounters was consensual. “That ‘70s Show” was still on the air at the time of all three alleged attacks.
The Church of Scientology previously released a statement to ABC News concerning the charges against Masterson, asserting that there is "no policy prohibiting or discouraging members from reporting criminal conduct of Scientologists, or of anyone, to law enforcement.” The statement went on to say that the “Church policy explicitly demands Scientologists abide by all laws of the land."
