They also introduced a fourth woman who claimed Masterson drugged and raped her in 2000.
#Bijou phillips and danny masterson 2017 rape trial
In opening statements of the new trial in late April, prosecutors said the evidence will show that the women were also drugged - a detail not mentioned directly during the first trial but which the judge allowed in the retrial. "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." "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. Jane Doe 2, who is also represented by Boies Schiller Flexner, said she was also disappointed Masterson wasn't convicted on all three counts. "Despite my disappointment in this outcome, I remain determined to secure justice, including in civil court, where I, along with my co-plaintiffs, will shine a light on how Scientology and other conspirators enabled and sought to cover up Masterson's monstrous behavior." "I thank the jury for its service, and while I'm encouraged that Danny Masterson will face some criminal punishment, I am devastated that he has dodged criminal accountability for his heinous conduct against me," Jane Doe 3 said in a statement provided through her attorneys, Boies Schiller Flexner. Tensions ran high in the courtroom between current and former Scientologists, and even leaked into testimony, with the accusers saying on the stand that they felt intimidated by some members in the room.Following the jury's decision, Jane Doe 3 said she was "devastated" by the mistrial on her count.
The Church was not a party to this case and religion did not belong in this proceeding as Supreme Court precedent has maintained for centuries.” The church said in a statement after the verdict that the “introduction of religion into this trial was an unprecedented violation of the First Amendment and affects the due process rights of every American. 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.” “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 knew as a fellow member of the church and was convicted of raping at his home in 2003, said in a statement.Ī second woman, a former girlfriend, whose count left the jury deadlocked, said in the statement: “While I’m encouraged that Danny Masterson will face some criminal punishment, I am devastated that he has dodged criminal accountability for his heinous conduct against me.” Masterson, 47, will be held without bail until he is sentenced. 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. Masterson’s wife, actor and model Bijou Phillips, gasped when the verdict was read and wept as he was taken into custody, while a group of family and friends who sat stone-faced behind him throughout both trials. LOS ANGELES (AP) - “That ’70s Show” star Danny Masterson was led out in handcuffs from a Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday and could get 30 years to life in prison after a jury found him guilty on two of three counts of rape at his second trial, in which the Church of Scientology played a central role.
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