1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
Israel and the crisis in the Middle EastGerman coalition collapseUS election
CrimeUnited States of America

US: 'That '70s Show' actor Masterson gets 30 years for rape

September 7, 2023

Danny Masterson was sentenced for raping two women some 20 years ago, during the period he was starring in the hit sitcom. He and both the women were Church of Scientology members.

https://p.dw.com/p/4W5LH
Danny Masterson speaks during a Launch Event for Netflix "The Ranch: Part 3" hosted by Ashton Kutcher and Danny Masterson at Tequila Cowboy on June 7, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee.
The actor was found guilty of raping two women nearly two decades agoImage: Anna Webber/Getty Images for Netflix

A US judge sentenced on Thursday Danny Masterson, the star of the popular sitcom "That '70s Show" to 30 years to life in prison over raping two women some two decades ago.

The 47-year-old actor and prominent scientologist's case had stirred controversy around the Church of Scientology. Masterson had met the two women through the group, all three were members. 

The accusers said the organization discouraged them from reporting him to the law, a denied by the California-based group. It said that Masterson's membership should not have been an issue in the case.

The crimes were committed during the time he starred in the successful TV sitcom set in the 1970s. Masterson was part of the show for eight years until 2006.

What happened in the trial?

An initial jury had failed last December to reach verdicts on three counts of rape, declaring a mistrial. Masterson was retried on all three counts earlier this year.

He has been in custody since May, when the jury found him guilty of two counts following seven days of deliberation. They were not able to reach a verdict on the third count, which alleged he raped a longtime girlfriend.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo handed down the sentence after hearing from the women, who testified about the trauma and suffering they experienced. 

They said the actor drugged and raped them in separate incidents between 2001 and 2003 at his house in Hollywood.

Studio Publicity Still from That 70s Show Danny Masterson, Topher Grace, Kurtwood Smith 1999 Los Angeles
The women said Masterson raped them during the time "That '70s Show" was runningImage: APC/Cinema Publishers Collection/IMAGO

"When you raped me, you stole from me," said one woman who Masterson was convicted of raping in 2003. "That's what rape is, a theft of the spirit."

The other woman Masterson was found guilty of raping said he "has not shown an ounce of remorse for the pain he caused."

"I knew he belonged behind bars for the safety of all the women he came into contact with," she said. "I am so sorry, and I'm so upset. I wish I'd reported him sooner to the police."

rmt/msh (AP, Reuters)