On Wednesday (May 31) in Los Angeles, ‘That ’70s Show‘ actor Danny Masterson was found guilty by a jury on two out of three counts of rape. In the retrial, Masterson was accused of raping two women; and now he faces 30 years to life in prison.
‘That ’70s Show’ Actor Danny Masterson Found Guilty Of Raping Two Women, Faces 30 Years To Life
According to LA District Attorney George Gascón, who worked the Tory Lanez and Megan Thee Stallion shooting case, the jury was hung on the third rape charge against the 47-year-old actor, best known as “Steven Hyde” on ‘That ’70s Show;’ which ran from 1998 to 2006, and starred: Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Wilmer Valderrama, and more.
Prior to the jury’s decision, Masterson previously pleaded not guilty to raping three women at his home on separate occasions between 2001 and 2003.
DA Gascón said, “We want to express our gratitude to the three women who came forward and bravely shared their experiences. Their courage and strength have been an inspiration to us all. While we are disappointed that the jury did not convict on all counts, we respect their decision.”
Masterson’s retrial first began on April 24 and on May 17, the jury was left to give a verdict. After their decision was given, Masterson was taken into custody, and again, he is facing a sentence of up to 30 years to life in a state prison.
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As mentioned, this latest case was a retrial, as the first trial against Masterson, which began in October 2022, was declared a mistrial in November. At the time, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office had revealed that the jurors had remained deadlocked.
According to reports, news of the allegations against Masterson had first began surfacing around March 2017. At the time, a journalist named Tony Ortega took to his website, “The Underground Bunker,” and claimed that Masterson was being investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department.
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Following the investigation launched on Masterson, he ended up getting kicked off a new Netflix production called ‘The Ranch,’ which was beginning in 2016 and also starring his former co-star Ashton Kutcher.
At the time, the producers of the show ended up writing Masterson off the series amid the rape allegations. Meanwhile, Masterson would maintain his innocence and claim that he was “obviously very disappointed” by the decision that Netflix was left to make.
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