Actor Danny Masterson has been sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for raping two women 20 years ago.
Masterson, best known for his role in the TV comedy That 70s Show, was sentenced to prison after Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F Olmedo heard from the women he assaulted who described their trauma and suffering.
The 47-year-old American actor, who has been in custody since May, sat unresponsive in his suit as the pair spoke.
“When you raped me, you stole from me,” one woman said.
“That’s what rape is, a theft of the spirit.”
“You are pathetic, disturbed and completely violent. The world is better off with you in prison.”
The other woman he also raped in 2003 said Masterson “has not shown an ounce of remorse for the pain he caused”.
She told the judge: “I knew he belonged behind bars for the safety of all the women he came in contact with. I’m so sorry and I’m so sorry. I wish I had reported him to the police before.”
A mistrial was declared in December 2022 after a jury failed to reach a verdict on three counts of rape, and he was prosecuted on all charges.
He was found guilty by a majority decision of two counts on May 31 after seven days of deliberations, but the jury could not reach a verdict on the third count, which allegedly involved another woman.
Masterson was sentenced after a defense motion for a new trial was denied, with his attorneys seeking to have the two sentences run concurrently with 15 years to life.
“It’s his life that will be affected by what you decide today,” Masterson’s attorney Shawn Holley told the judge.
“And the life of his nine-year-old daughter, who means the world to him and to whom he means the world.
“He has lived an exemplary life, he has been an extraordinary father, husband, brother, son, colleague and community servant.”
Danny Masterson leaves Los Angeles Superior Court with his wife Bijou Phillips in November 2022. Image: AP
Prosecutors argued for his position in the controversial Church of Scientologywhere the two women and a suspected victim were also members, was used to avoid consequences afterwards, with the women blaming the organization for their reluctance to go to the police.
In a statement, the church said the “testimony and descriptions of Scientology beliefs” during the trial were “uniformly false.”
“The Church has no policy that prohibits or discourages members from reporting criminal behavior by anyone—Scientologists or not—to law enforcement.”
Masterson did not testify, nor did his attorneys call any witnesses, with the defense instead arguing that the acts were consensual.
The women whose evidence led to his conviction said that in 2003 Masterson gave them drinks that made them feel dizzy before they passed out and he raped them.
That ’70s Show, which ran for eight series from 1998 to 2006, revolved around a group of teenage friends and took place in 1970s Wisconsin.