![]() ![]() Olmedo allowed expert testimony on church policy from a former official in Scientology leadership who has become a prominent opponent. The Church of Scientology played a significant role in the first trial but arguably an even larger one in the second. "If you decide that a witness deliberately lied about something in this case," defense attorney Philip Cohen told jurors, going through their instructions in his closing argument, "You should consider not believing anything that witness says." The defense argued that the acts were consensual, and attempted to discredit the women's stories by highlighting changes and inconsistencies over time, which they said showed signs of coordination between them. Masterson did not testify, and his lawyers called no witnesses. They said he used his prominence in the church - where all three women were also members at the time - to avoid consequences for decades. They told jurors he drugged the women's drinks so he could rape them. Prosecutors, retrying Masterson after a deadlocked jury led to a mistrial in December, said he forcibly raped three women, including a longtime girlfriend, in his Hollywood Hills home between 20. Other family and friends sat stone-faced. His wife, actor and model Bijou Phillips, wept as he was led away. ![]() The 47-year-old actor faces up to 30 years in prison. Masterson was led from the courtroom in handcuffs. They had voted 8-4 in favor of conviction. They could not reach a verdict on the third count, that alleged Masterson raped a longtime girlfriend. The jury of seven women and five men reached the verdict after deliberating for seven days spread over two weeks. LOS ANGELES - A jury found "That '70s Show" star Danny Masterson guilty of two counts of rape Wednesday in a Los Angeles retrial in which the Church of Scientology played a central role. “In Scientology, the defendant is a celebrity and he is untouchable.Jury finds 'That '70s Show' star Danny Masterson guilty of 2 counts of rape in retrial where Scientology played key role. “The church taught his victims, ‘Rape isn’t rape, you caused this, and above all, you are never allowed to go to law enforcement,’” she said. Cohen said that alone was enough to crater her credibility and introduce reasonable doubt that Masterson is guilty.Īnson took aim at the Church of Scientology, of which Masterson is a member and all three women are former members, throughout her argument, emphasizing that church authorities kept the women from accepting what had happened to them and from reporting it to police for years. She insisted she had told police about it then. He dwelled on one woman testifying that Masterson pulled a gun from a nightstand at one point during the night she said she was attacked, though there was no mention of it in the report from her initial police interview. “What she views as little inconsistencies are at the heart of trying to determine, ‘Is somebody, reliable, credible, believable enough for a criminal conviction?’” “She did a very nice job of ignoring many of them,” Cohen said. His attorney, Philip Cohen told jurors during his closing that inconsistencies in the women’s stories that he said Anson downplayed are essential and should make it easy for jurors to have reasonable doubt of Masterson’s guilt. Masterson has pleaded not guilty to raping three women at his home between 20. The new jury is expected to get the case Wednesday morning when prosecutors complete their final rebuttal. The 47-year-old former star of “That ‘70s Show” is on rape trial for a second time after the first ended in a mistrial in December, with a jury hopelessly deadlocked on all counts. And he does it over and over and over again.” The defendant makes that choice for these victims. “You don’t want to have sex? You don’t have a choice. He does this to take away his victims’ ability to consent,” Deputy District Attorney Ariel Anson told the jury of seven men and five women. “The defendant drugs his victims to gain control. LOS ANGELES (AP) - Danny Masterson drugged women’s drinks so he could rape them, then relied on his prominence in the Church of Scientology to avoid consequences for years, a prosecutor told jurors Tuesday in closing arguments at the actor’s trial. ![]()
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