Danny Masterson was just sentenced to 30 years in prison in his rape case. The 'That 70s Show' star will register as a sex offender if he is ever released.
Wade Payne/Invision/AP, File
- Danny Masterson was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison on Thursday.
- The "That 70s Show" star was found guilty of two counts of rape in May.
- At least three women accused Masterson of raping them from 2001 to 2003.
"That 70s Show" star Danny Masterson was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison Thursday in a Los Angeles courtroom after being found guilty of rape in May.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo said that if Masterson ever is released on parole or otherwise, Masterson will have to officially register as a sex offender, Deadline reported.
Masterson was accused by at least three women — all former Scientologists — of rape between 2001 and 2003. The women alleged that Masterson used his position in the Church of Scientology to silence their accusations.
A civil suit in the case is upcoming.
In a victim-impact statement, one of the women who has asked to only be identified by her initials, N.T., told Masterson that he relishes "in hurting women," according to court reporter Meghann Cuniff.
"You lived your life behind a mask, as two people. But the real one sits here now. … You are pathetic, disturbed, and extremely violent, and the world is safer with you in prison," N.T said., closing her remarks by saying she forgives Masterson.
Masterson's sentence caps a years-long investigation into the actor's conduct after three women filed sexual assault allegations in 2017 with the Los Angeles Police Department.
Three years later, Masterson was formally charged with raping three women between the years of 2001 and 2003. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Masterson's first trial which began in October 2022 would be declared a mistrial after a jury failed to reach a unanimous decision on all three rape charges.
His re-trial would last more than a month before a jury handed a guilty verdict on two charges. Jurors were hung 8-4 on the rape count related to a third woman.
Though the charges were focused solely on Masterson, the Church of Scientology also has repeatedly come up at the forefront of the actor's trial.
Masterson is a second-generation Scientologist, while the three women were former members.
During the trial, the women testified how they felt the church played a role in silencing their allegations.
"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," Jane Doe 2 said in a statement sent to Insider after Masterson's guilty verdict in May. "I am disappointed that he was not convicted on all counts, but take great solace in the fact that he, the Church of Scientology, and others, will have to fully account for their abhorrent actions in civil court."