From the LA Times: ” Danny Masterson, 47, was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo on Thursday despite the pleas from his “That ’70s Show” co-stars Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, among others.
Per AP: Judge Olmedo said to Masters at the sentencing Thursday, “I know that you’re sitting here steadfast in your claims of innocence, and thus no doubt feeling victimized by a justice system that has failed you,” Olmedo told Masterson before handing down the sentence. “But Mr. Masterson, you are not the victim here. Your actions 20 years ago took away another person’s voice, and choice. One way or another you will have to come to terms with your prior actions, and their consequences.”
In court, defense attorney Shawn Holley also asked Olmedo to exercise sentencing leniency, citing Masterson’s lack of a criminal record and history of philanthropic actions, drawing a sharp rebuke from Deputy Dist. Atty. Reinhold Mueller:
“The manner in which this defendant committed his acts — it was violent, it was targeted in some instances, surreptitiously drugging his victims so they were incapacitated when he committed these assaults,” he said. “It’s heinous. And to suggest, under all of these circumstances, that 15 years to life … is enough and that’s fair and just? Absolutely not. LA Times
In contrast, several of his friends, colleagues and relatives wrote letters asking the judge for leniency in his case.. “I do not believe he is an ongoing harm to society and having his daughter raised without a present father would [be] a tertiary injustice in and of itself,” Kutcher wrote in his letter, which was published first by reporter Meghann Cuniff. “
Kutcher – who is married to Kunis – went on to claim that Masterson “was the first person to jump to the defence” of a girl he didn’t know after she was berated by her belligerent boyfriend.In her letter, Kunis wrote: “Throughout our time together, Danny has proven to be an amazing friend, confidant, and, above all, an outstanding older brother figure to me.” Sky News
Masterson, a member of the Church of Scientology, was a star on the hit sitcom “That ’70s Show,” which ran from 1998 to 2006. He was first accused of sexual misconduct in 2017, which kicked off an investigation by the LAPD. In June 2020, he was charged with raping three women, including his former girlfriend, in his Hollywood Hills home between 2001 and 2003. The three women had all met Masterson through the Church of Scientology. NPR
His attorney, Shawn Holley, was a member of the OJ “Dream Team”, worked for Johnnie Cochran, notes he is innocent of all charges an they plan to appeal his sentence and conviction.