Danny Masterson sentenced to 30 years to life in prison in rape case
Sep 7, 2023, 3:21 PM
Danny Masterson, pictured here in Los Angeles in May, was sentenced on September 7 to 30 years to life in prison. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images via CNN)
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images via CNN)
(CNN) — Actor Danny Masterson was sentenced on Thursday to 30 years to life in prison after he was convicted on two counts of rape in a Los Angeles courtroom in June, according to Deputy D.A. Reinhold Mueller of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.
CNN has reached out to representatives for Masterson for comment.
The “That ’70s Show” star, 47, was found guilty in June on two of three counts of rape. The jury was deadlocked on the third count.
Masterson was taken into custody following the verdict earlier this year, and on Thursday received the maximum penalty for the crimes.
Masterson had pleaded not guilty to raping three women at his home in separate incidents between 2001 and 2003.
The sentence on Thursday stems from the second trial in the case, which began on April 24 and went to jury on May 17. Masterson was represented by defense lawyers Shawn Holley and Philip Cohen. Deputy D.A. Ariel Anson and Deputy D.A. Mueller prosecuted the case.
The first trial began in October 2022, and a mistrial was declared the following month after the jury remained deadlocked, the District Attorney told CNN at the time.
Alison Anderson, the attorney representing two of the three accusers, told CNN in a statement on Thursday following the sentencing that her clients “have displayed tremendous strength and bravery, by coming forward to law enforcement and participating directly in two grueling criminal trials.”
Masterson is best known for his role as Steven Hyde on “That ’70s Show,” which aired for eight seasons on Fox from 1998 to 2006, and co-starred Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, Laura Prepon, Topher Grace and Wilmer Valderrama.
FILE: (L-R) Actors Wilmer Valderrama, Laura Prepon, Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher and Danny Masterson pose backstage at the Church of Scientology’s 11th Annual Christmas Stories Fundraiser (COS via Getty Images)
Kutcher and Masterson also starred in Netflix’s “The Ranch” beginning in 2016, but Netflix and the producers wrote Masterson off the show amid the rape allegations. At the time, Masterson said he was “obviously very disappointed” by the decision in a statement to CNN.
News of the allegations date back to March 2017, when journalist and former Village Voice editor Tony Ortega wrote on his site “The Underground Bunker” that Masterson was being investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department.
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