The American TV star Danny Masterson was sentenced by a California judge to 30 years to life in prison for the rape of two women two decades ago. After an initial jury failed to reach a verdit in December 2022 and a mistrial was declared, prosecutors retried Masterson again this year. This time, a jury of seven women and five men found him guilty on two of three counts for attacks that took place in his Hollywood home in 2003, when he was a star on the Fox network's "That '70s Show." The jury failed to convict him of also raping a long-time girlfriend. Prosecutors alleged that Masterson used him prominence in the Church of Scientology, where all three women were also members at the time, to avoid consequences after the attacks. The women blamed the church for their hesitancy to go to police after the attacks.
Compiled from: ""That '70s Show actor Danny Masterson gets 30 years to life in prison for rapes of 2 women in 2003," PBS News Hour, September 7, 2023