Former “That ’70s Show” star Danny Masterson, who was convicted of raping two women and is currently serving a sentence of 30 years to life in prison, is attempting to have the convictions overturned. His lawyers contend that he was not given a fair trial.
Masterson was found guilty by a Los Angeles jury last year of two charges of rape by force or terror for abusing two women at his Hollywood Hills residence in separate instances in 2003, while he was a star of the program. In the case involving a third claimed victim, the jury was unable to reach a decision. The trial in May 2023 came after a mistrial in November of the previous year.
Masterson, 48, is incarcerated in San Luis Obispo County’s California Men’s Colony, a minimum and medium-security facility.
Cliff Gardner, his appeal lawyer, filed an appellant’s opening brief on Tuesday outlining the case for appeal. According to Gardner, the court made erroneous rulings that prevented the presentation of evidence that would have supported Masterson’s defense, and witnesses gave conflicting accounts over time, potentially casting doubt on their credibility.
In the court documents, Gardner contends that all of those elements support the convictions being overturned. According to Masterson’s defense, he had consensually engaged in sexual contact with women and was socially acquainted with them.
“Obviously, a defendant does not have the right to a flawless trial. However, according to the court documents in Masterson’s appeal attempt, “he is still entitled to a fair one.” “Neither was given to Danny Masterson. Reversal is necessary.
According to the Associated Press, one of the women who testified that Masterson choked her and suffocated her with a pillow when she attempted to defend herself during the trial—for which he was later found guilty of rape—broke down on the witness stand. She sobbed as she said, “I was smothered,” “I could not breathe.”
According to the AP, she said she feared for her safety when the prosecutor questioned her about her thoughts at the time.
She claimed, “That he was going to kill me,” “That I was going to die.”
Later, she gave a statement. When they heard voices at the door, Masterson pulled a revolver from inside his bedside table and ordered her to keep silent. Despite having half a vodka drink, she told jurors she was in and out of consciousness throughout the night.
All of the victims, including Masterson, belonged to the Church of Scientology, which became a major issue in the case since the women said they were harassed and pursued after telling the police about the claims.
Years ago, they filed a lawsuit against Masterson and the church in relation to those charges.
During the trial, Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller told jurors the church had retaliated against the victims for reporting the crimes, in which Masterson raped a 28-year-old woman in April 2003 and assaulted a 23-year-old woman that year.
“What happened after they were drugged, they were raped by this man over here,” Mueller wrote after closing arguments, gesturing across the courtroom to Masterson. “You have an opportunity to show there is justice. It is real.
At the time, the church released a statement refuting the allegations.
“The church has no policy prohibiting or discouraging members from reporting criminal conduct of anyone, Scientologists or not, to law enforcement,” the statement reads. “Quite the opposite, church policy explicitly demands Scientologists abide by all laws of the land. All allegations to the contrary are totally false.”
In the newly filed brief for Masterson’s appeal, Gardner alleges the victims changed their stories “dramatically” over the years and had a financial motive to do so. The statute of limitations to file a lawsuit seeking damages had expired before the trial, but under state law, it would be revived if Masterson was convicted of forcible rape involving multiple victims.
Gardner argues that a court ruling led to evidence of that circumstance being left out of the trial.
He also states in the court filings that some witnesses died before the case went to trial, more than a decade after being reported to law enforcement, and police lost a tape-recorded witness interview that would have helped Masterson’s defense.
After the six-day trial resulting in Masterson’s convictions, one of the women he was convicted of raping released a statement saying she was relievedhe had been found guilty.
“I am experiencing a complex array of emotions relief, exhaustion, strength, sadness knowing that my abuser, Danny Masterson, will face accountability for his criminal behavior,” one of the women, whom Masterson was convicted of raping at his home in 2003, said in a statement.
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