‘That ’70s Show’ actor Danny Masterson loses appeal of rape conviction

A California appeals court on Tuesday upheld actor Danny Masterson’s convictions and long prison sentence for raping two women at his home in 2003.

In an 89-page ruling, viewed by Global News, the three-judge panel unanimously found that the 50-year-old actor had failed to demonstrate that the lower court made errors that would warrant granting him a new trial.

The panel also rejected a petition filed by Masterson that claimed ineffective assistance of counsel.

4:30 ‘That ’70s Show’ actor Danny Masterson sentenced to 30 years in prison

Masterson, who is currently serving 30 years to life in prison for raping two women, was found guilty of two of three counts of forcible rape during his retrial in May 2023.

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He had pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. The retrial was called after 2022’s original trial on the same three counts ended in a mistrial when a jury deadlocked, failing to reach unanimous verdicts.

Among the claims that the court rejected were that Masterson’s convictions violated the 10-year statute of limitations for forcible rape, as the statute does not apply where there are multiple victims; that the trial court excluded evidence in his favour; and that the trial court exhibited bias against Scientology.

The That ’70s Show actor is a prominent member of the Church of Scientology, and his accusers are former members who said they grew disillusioned with the institution after they were assaulted.

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They said church officials told them what had happened to them was not rape, and that its policies prevented them from going to police. The church vehemently denied having any such policy.

Masterson’s lawyers argued that Judge Charlaine Olmedo made remarks and adverse rulings about Scientology that infringed on his First Amendment rights.

“Defendant cites several statements by the trial court that he claims demonstrate a lack of neutrality and even hostility toward Scientology. Those statements, viewed in context, evidence no animus or departure from neutrality regarding Scientology,” the panel of judges wrote in the ruling.

0:31 Danny Masterson found guilty of 2 counts of rape in 2nd trial

The ruling also noted that Masterson and his legal team claimed the court “displayed hostility toward Scientology by referring to it at times as an ‘organization’ rather than a church or religion.”

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“Defense counsel raised no objection to that term and at times also referred to Scientology as an organization. Defense counsel even proposed before trial that the term ‘organization’ be used instead of ‘Scientology’ during the trial,” the ruling continued.

“The jury instructions referred to Scientology as an organization, and defendant raised no objection. The witnesses themselves often referred to Scientology as an ‘organization,'” it added.

“The trial court’s use of the term ‘organization’ was not disparaging, nor did it reflect hostility toward Scientology,” said the ruling.

In the ruling, the three-judge panel said that Masterson and his legal team failed “to establish any abuse of discretion or First Amendment violation by the trial court.”

Masterson’s appellate lawyers, Cliff Gardner and Eric Multhaup, told Variety that they will appeal to the California Supreme Court, while also pursuing a separate habeas petition.

“Danny is serving a life sentence for crimes he did not commit,” Gardner told the outlet. “No one in California – not defendants and not victims who have actually been the victim of a sex crime – is safer by virtue of today’s unfortunate decision.”

Last November, Masterson blamed his trial lawyer for his 2023 rape convictions and accused his defence team of “failure of due diligence.”

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Masterson filed a petition for habeas corpus — a legal action challenging the lawfulness of his imprisonment — in November, which blamed his trial lawyer, Philip Cohen, for failing to call any witnesses and for not pushing back on prosecutors’ claims about Scientology,

In the petition, Masterson also alleges police and prosecutors were prejudiced against Scientology, partially due to the involvement of former Scientologist Leah Remini, who supported his accusers publicly.

“She was welcomed into the prosecution fold as an adviser, strategist, authoritative arbiter on the policy and practices of the Church of Scientology, and advocate for the complaining witnesses,” said the petition. “She was welcomed even though the LAPD knew that she had an ongoing vendetta against petitioner.”

According to the filing, Church of Scientology’s lawyers urged Cohen to call Hugh Whitt, a longtime Scientologist, to speak, but Cohen and his co-counsel did not call him.

“Why have we heard so much about Scientology?” Cohen asked in his closing argument. “Could it be there’s problems otherwise with the government’s case?”

The petition argues that Cohen failed to interview numerous defence witnesses who might have helped Masterson’s case by challenging the credibility of his accusers.

—With files from The Associated Press

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