Jury hears closing arguments in Actor Danny Masterson's rape retrial
A prosecutor told jurors Tuesday that actor Danny Masterson "carefully sought out his prey" and then drugged and raped three women between 2001 and 2003, while his attorney questioned the credibility of the alleged victims and urged the panel to acquit his client.
"It all starts with a drink ... This is his play book," Deputy District Attorney Ariel Anson told the downtown Los Angeles jury, saying that the 47-year-old co-star of "That '70s Show" drugged his alleged victims so he would be in control. "Like all predators, the defendant carefully sought out his prey."
The jury is the second to hear the case against Masterson, who was charged in 2020 with three counts of rape by force or fear involving the three women on separate alleged occasions.
During last year's trial, jurors leaned in favor of acquittal on all three counts against Masterson -- voting 10-2 on one count, 8-4 on another and 7-5 on the third -- but they were unable to reach a unanimous decision, leading to the mistrial last Nov. 30.
Prosecutors confirmed in January that they wanted to retry the actor, and Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo rejected a defense effort to have the charges dismissed.
In her closing argument, Anson said the three alleged victims -- like Masterson -- were members of the Church of Scientology and that the defendant was a celebrity who was "untouchable," saying that their involvement with the church affected their decision to delay contacting police about their allegations.
The prosecutor told jurors that they don't need DNA or a toxicology report in order to hold Masterson accountable for his actions
Defense attorney Philip Kent Cohen questioned why the panel had heard "so much about Scientology," asking jurors if there could be problems with the government's case against Masterson.
Masterson's lawyer said he was not alleging that there was some "grand conspiracy" against his client, but told jurors that the alleged victims have spoken with each other despite a Los Angeles Police Department detective's admonition and that their accounts have been tweaked throughout the years.
He said there was no forensic evidence to support the prosecution's contention that the women had been drugged.
In his rebuttal argument, Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller told the jury that there was "absolutely no proof" to bolster the defense's contention that the women had a motive to lie about what had happened to them as a result of a pending civil lawsuit or animus against the church to which they once belonged. He said it was "normal" that the women may not have initially given police all of the details about what had allegedly happened to them.
Jurors are expected to be handed the case Wednesday after Mueller finishes his rebuttal argument and the judge gives the panel its final instructions.
Masterson has been free on bail since his June 2020 arrest by the Los Angeles Police Department's Robbery-Homicide Division.
In December 2017, Netflix announced that Masterson had been fired from the Emmy-winning scripted comedy "The Ranch" amid sexual assault allegations.
The actor said then he was "very disappointed," and added that "it seems as if you are presumed guilty the moment you are accused." He also "denied the outrageous allegations" and said he looked forward to "clearing my name once and for all."
A civil suit filed in August 2019 against Masterson -- a longtime adherent of the Church of Scientology -- and the church by the three women involved in the criminal case and one woman who was not a member of the church alleges they were stalked and harassed after reporting sexual assault allegations against the actor to Los Angeles police.
Regarding the lawsuit, the Church of Scientology issued a statement saying, "The Church denies the allegations of harassment as obvious, cynical and self-serving fictions, and the Church knows it will be vindicated."
