Danny Masterson, the actor who gained fame starring in the sitcom “That ’70s Show,” is facing three counts of rape from 2001 to 2003. The jury deadlocked on all three counts at his first trial, and Masterson is being tried again. During the retrial, a former girlfriend of the actor testified that he had grown abusive and controlling during their five-year relationship. She said that he had raped her in their bed in November of 2001 after previous instances when she woke up to find him on top of her. She had accepted sex with him in the past to avoid angering him but clearly did not consent on the night of the rape. Masterson pinned her arms above her head, and she tried to push him off. She managed to free one arm and yanked his hair, and he hit her in the jaw with a partially closed fist, spat on her, and stormed off. If convicted of all three counts, Masterson could get 45 years in prison.
The former girlfriend’s rape was an especially dark moment in a series of ugly incidents in their relationship. After a happy first year, Masterson began seeking to control her life and personality, often invoking the principles of the Church of Scientology. She had joined the church at the behest of Masterson, a lifelong member, when their relationship grew serious, cutting her off from her family in Alabama and from friends who were not members. He grew increasingly aggressive with her sexually and became physically violent, once dragging her out of the bedroom naked by her hair when she refused sex.
The former girlfriend also testified that about a month after the November rape, she and Masterson went to dinner at a restaurant they frequented near their home. She drank one or two glasses of wine with dinner and had no memory between getting up to leave and waking alone and in pain in bed well into the next day. Masterson admitted that he had sex with her while she was unconscious. The prosecution claims that Masterson drugged her, as he had the other two accusers, but there would be no physical evidence from an investigation that did not begin until about 15 years after the alleged assaults. The woman went to police in 2016, long after she had left the Church of Scientology, and Masterson has pleaded not guilty.
The Church of Scientology was mentioned during the trial. The former girlfriend went to her ethics officer at the Church of Scientology to report what Masterson had done to her, but she was told that it was not rape and that it violated church policy for her to go to the police and report a fellow Scientologist like Masterson. The church vehemently denied having such a policy. The trial is expected to last four weeks, and the woman is expected to return to the stand for more questioning on Wednesday.
For anyone struggling with sexual assault or trauma, several resources are available in Canada to support people in crisis, including a list of sexual assault centers in Canada that offer information, advocacy, and counseling at ReeseCommunity.com. Helplines, legal services, and locations that offer sexual assault kits in Alberta, B.C., Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, Ontario, and Nova Scotia can be found here. If someone is in immediate danger or fears for their safety, they should call 911.