Danny Masterson Loses Appeal of Rape Conviction, 30-Year Sentence Stands

Danny Masterson has lost his appeal of a rape conviction, leaving in place the 30-year prison sentence he received. The ruling came from the California court of appeal.

Masterson, best known for his role on That '70s Show, was convicted in 2023 on two counts of rape involving two women in 2003. A third charge, tied to a third plaintiff who said Masterson raped her in 2001, was quashed. Masterson has maintained that sex with all three plaintiffs was consensual.

He filed his appeal in December. His lawyers questioned the credibility of the plaintiffs and argued he was denied a fair trial because the judge, Los Angeles superior court judge Charlaine F Olmedo, was biased against Scientology.

In an 89-page ruling filed on Tuesday, a three-judge panel rejected those arguments. It found that Olmedo's statements during the trial showed "no animus or departure from neutrality regarding Scientology."

At trial, prosecutors argued that Masterson, a prominent Scientologist, used his standing in the church to avoid accountability for the assaults. All three plaintiffs were church members at the time. Prosecutors also said the women waited to report the incidents because they feared breaking a Scientology rule against going to the police and facing retaliation.

Two of the accusers testified that when they reported Masterson to Scientology officials, they were told they had not been raped. They said they were put through "ethics programs," which they likened to repeated interrogations, and were warned against going to police. One woman said she was shunned and ostracised for doing so.

Olmedo allowed Claire Headley, a former Scientologist, to testify as an expert on the church's beliefs and practices. Headley told the court that Scientology regards going to law enforcement as a "suppressive act" that can be punished by excommunication. Masterson's lawyers argued on appeal that the court had improperly intruded into the interpretation of church doctrine.

The panel disagreed. "The jury in this case was not asked to determine the truth or falsity of Scientology doctrine or beliefs," it wrote. "Admission of Scientology evidence for those purposes did not contravene the First Amendment." The panel also rejected separate arguments about the statute of limitations and evidentiary rulings, and denied that he did not receive an adequate defense.

Masterson's lawyers, Cliff Gardner and Eric Multhaup, called the outcome an "unfortunate decision" and told Variety they would appeal to the California supreme court.

After the 2023 verdict, the church of Scientology said the "testimony and descriptions of Scientology beliefs" given at trial were "uniformly false." Its statement added: "The church has no policy prohibiting or discouraging members from reporting criminal conduct of anyone, Scientologists or not, to law enforcement."