A prosecutor harkened back to violent allegations that Danny Masterson drugged and raped three women during their closing argument for the That ’70s Show star’s retrial in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday.
“The defendant drugs his victims to gain control. He does this to take away his victims’ ability to consent,” Deputy District Attorney Ariel Anson told the court on Tuesday, as the Associated Press reported. “You don’t want to have sex? You don’t have a choice. The defendant makes that choice for these victims. And he does it over and over and over again.”
Masterson, first arrested in 2020 on three counts of forcible rape dating back to allegations from 2001 to 2003, pleaded not guilty and denied the allegations. He faces 45 years in prison if convicted. This is the second trial Masterson faces on the rape charges after the first trial ended in a mistrial last November as the jury was deadlocked and couldn’t unanimously agree on verdicts for any of the charges. The jurors’ votes on all the charges last trial, however, leaned majority to acquit Masterson.
As Anson reflected in the closing argument and was a notable change compared to the first trial, prosecutors told jurors directly that Masterson drugged the three women who accused him of rape. In the initial trial, while the prosecutors and women had described symptoms that would line up with date rape drugs — including memory loss, disorientation, and quick onset nausea even if they didn’t drink much alcohol — the allegation was more loosely implied than outright stated, stopping only at listing symptoms.
“It all starts with a drink,” Anson said, per Deadline. “How many times have you heard the defendant ask, ‘Would you like a drink?’ This is his play book, this is what he does… how he ensures to get what he wants.”
Beyond the new drugging claims, the trial has been noteworthy because of its links to the Church of Scientology; Masterson is a prominent member of the organization, and all of the women who’ve accused him of rape are former Scientologists. The accusers have repeatedly claimed that the Church of Scientology discouraged them from coming forward with their allegations and protected Masterson. Going to the police was against the organization’s laws and could result in severe consequences, the accusers have alleged. The accusers testified they were told that it wasn’t possible for them to be raped and that it was the result of their actions. They also alleged going to the police was against Scientology’s rules and could result in severe consequences. The organization has previously denied those claims to Rolling Stone, calling them “fabrications.”
Per the AP, Masterson’s defense team started their closing arguments by Tuesday afternoon but had not concluded by press time. As he had done last trial, Masterson’s attorney Phillip Cohen implored the jury to focus on inconsistencies in the victims’ stories, which he said casts enough doubt on the claims that Masterson shouldn’t be convicted.
“She did a very nice job of ignoring many of them,” Cohen said of Anson and any potential issues with the victims’ allegations, per the AP. “What she views as little inconsistencies are at the heart of trying to determine, ‘Is somebody, reliable, credible, believable enough for a criminal conviction?’”
In a statement, John Kucera, the personal attorney for two of Masterson’s accusers, highlighted the strain reliving the allegations puts on the victims.
“Our clients have consistently and repeatedly stated that Mr. Masterson brutally raped them, from their first reports to the LAPD to their testimony in court years later,” Kucera said. “Testifying in this re-trial and reliving these horrific moments — in front of strangers and hostile parties — speaks to their courage and resolve.”
This is a developing story…
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