Danny Masterson Convicted Of Rape, Facing 30 Year Sentence
Danny Masterson has been convicted of raping two women and can be sentenced for up to 30 years in prison.
After years of speculation, actor Danny Masterson has now been found guilty of raping two women at his Hollywood Hills house between 2001 and 2003. After his trial, which began on April 24, he was handcuffed and taken into custody. Deadline confirms that the That 70’s Show actor will face a 30-year sentence for his crimes.
Three Jane Does (Jen B, Christina B, and N.T.) all came forward to accuse Danny Masterson of raping them in his home. The jury, made up of seven women and five men, found the actor guilty of the “forceable rape” of Jen B and N.T., but could not come to a unanimous decision on whether or not he was guilty of raping Christina B., who was a long-time girlfriend of his. The charges for each crime are 15 years to life, which meant Danny Masterson was looking at potentially serving 45 years to life but will now receive 30 years in prison.
All three of the Jane Does testified during this trial as well as in Danny Masterson’s previous trial. The first trial ended in a hung jury when the twelve jurors could not reach a verdict. The women accused the actor of spiking their drinks before raping them, similar to the crimes of Bill Cosby.
The news first broke of the accusations against Danny Masterson back in 2017 while he was acting on the TV show The Ranch with former co-star Ashton Kutcher. He was immediately fired from the Netflix comedy series and was not included in the new That 70’s Show reboot TV series That 90’s Show. In 2020, The Ranch naturally came to an end after four seasons.
The Los Angeles courtroom was filled with lawyers and family members of Danny Masterson, including his wife, Bijou Phillips. The two have been married since 2011, and they have a daughter together who was born in 2014. Bijou Phillips is also the half-sister of singer Chynna Phillips who is married to Billy Baldwin, which makes him brother-in-law to Danny Masterson.
The trial began on April 24 and only lasted 19 days. While the prosecution had all three Jane Does testify against Danny Masterson, the defense did not call any witnesses to the stand. The closing arguments were delivered from May 16 to 17 before the jury began their deliberation.
Similar to the first trial, the prosecution tried to bring the Church of Scientology into the mix since Danny Masterson and his wife are part of the Church. Two of the three Jane Does previously said that the Church of Scientology tried to stop them from going to the police to report their rapes. However, the defendants argued against this, claiming that the Church was not on trial but that Danny Masterson himself was the one on trial.
While some celebrities can get away with allegations and incidents without any harm, this goes to show that not all celebrities are impervious to the law. Danny Masterson, who has been deemed a flight risk, is currently being held in custody until his next hearing, which will be held on August 4.
