Following the conclusion of jury selection on Tuesday, opening comments in the sexual assault case against That ’70s Show star Danny Masterson started.
In 2020, Masterson was accused of raping three women forcibly on several occasions between 2001 and 2003. In January 2021, he entered a not-guilty plea to each of the three allegations, and a Los Angeles court ordered him to stand trial last year. Prosecutors claim that all of the alleged crimes took place in Masterson’s house, and in a preliminary hearing last May, all three accusers testified about their claims.
If he is found guilty, Masterson may receive a state prison sentence ranging from 45 years to life if he is found guilty.
In his two-and-a-half-hour opening statement on Tuesday, Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller laid out the claims made by three women who said Masterson had sex with them against their will.
After Mueller finished his opening remarks, Masterson’s attorney, Philip Cohen, addressed the jury and stressed the alleged “cross-contamination,” contending that the women had all spoken to one another “before talking to the LAPD,” according to Deadline. Cohen also said that the women’s stories didn’t match up, which was supported by what they were said to have told officials and the fact that there was no photographic evidence.
During his opening statement, J.B. described the anticipated testimony on how Masterson allegedly drugged and assaulted the women, whose initials were J.B., N.T., and C.B.
In court, Masterson listened attentively with his hands folded in his lap and was well-supported. Two rows of his brothers, Christopher and Jordan, his mom, Carol, sister Alanna, and wife Bijou Phillips were all seated behind him. Chris Wadhams, an actor and close friend, was also present to offer assistance.
Starting with J.B., who reportedly had two different experiences with Masterson in September 2002 and April 2003, Mueller went on to describe the allegations.
J.B., according to Mueller, was 28 at the time of the initial event. She had intended to spend the night at a friend’s house, but after the two had a disagreement, J.B. ended up staying out with Masterson, a mutual friend, according to Mueller.
Mueller claimed that J.B. consumed one or two grapefruit juice and vodka drinks while out and became inebriated. She then travelled to Masterson’s residence with the intention of spending the night in the guest room, but Masterson is accused of “pulling her up the stairs to the master bedroom.” Mueller claimed that they had intercourse even though she initially brushed it off.
The incident “soon degenerated into one where the defendant had flipped her over and penetrated her anally,” according to Mueller. Mueller claims that J.B. made an effort to fight back but hurt her back in the process. Lisa Marie Presley, who is scheduled to testify, was one of the friends she told at the time. Mueller says that the jury “will also hear about a possible pregnancy and loss related to that meeting.”
Although no charges were brought against Masterson for that specific incident, Mueller asserted that he raped her once more nine months later, which is the incident for which he is now facing charges.
According to Mueller, J.B. and Masterson were out celebrating a friend’s birthday on April 24, 2003, during the second alleged incident, and J.B. wound up sleeping at Masterson’s house after misplacing the keys to her friend’s apartment where she had planned to stay.
This time, according to Mueller, J.B. was given a red fruity cocktail with vodka. She hadn’t had a drink all night, according to Mueller. She drank less than half and lost all sense of direction.
Then, according to her, Masterson allegedly grabbed her by the wrists and forcibly compelled her to enter the jacuzzi, according to Mueller. Additionally, he claimed that J.B. refused to enter and informed Masterson as much, but that Masterson disregarded her and simply repeated, “You have 15 seconds. Mueller claims that J.B. tried to remove her boots and was drenched in water while wearing only a shirt, bra, and underpants.
Things became worse,” stating that J.B. was unable to stand, was having difficulty breathing, was unable to keep her eyes open, and was experiencing nausea. According to Mueller, Masterson allegedly told J.B. he was going to take her upstairs and force her to vomit by sticking his finger down her mouth.
After entering the restroom, Masterson allegedly told J.B. that she was nasty after she puked in the toilet. You puked all over the place. After that, Masterson placed her in the shower, where J.B. allegedly fell asleep and awoke to his breast-stroking, according to Mueller.
Later, Masterson escorted J.B. to his bedroom, where, according to Mueller, J.B. claimed to have woken up to feel his “full weight on her” and be penetrating her vaginally. According to J.B., she used a pillow to try to push him away, but Masterson is accused of smothering her with the same pillow, according to Mueller. She “fell out of that cushion while he was still piercing her,” he continued.
In addition, J.B. asserted that he pulled a revolver and ordered her not to move or tell anyone what had happened, according to Mueller. J.B. didn’t tell anyone at first, but two days later, when her friends and relatives observed bruises on her body, she went to notify a Master-at-Arms (a Scientology ethics officer).
“If you’re going to tell me this is rape, it wasn’t rape,” was his reply. You shouldn’t employ that word. You are not permitted to approach the cops,” Mueller cited J.B.’s assertion. It would be a serious felony to do that. Additionally, you might be labelled a Suppressive Person if you commit a serious offence. That basically means that everyone else in the church has to distance themselves from you and that you are the church’s adversary.
Finally, J.B. reported the alleged rape in April 2004 at the Hollywood police station.
Mueller also mentioned N.T., an actress on the television programme Oh, Grow Up, and C.B., a model who dated Masterson for five or six years.
The That ’70s Show star allegedly became “more domineering” with C.B. and demanded that she stop travelling for modelling around a year into their relationship, according to Mueller.
In addition, C.B. alleged that Masterson was physically violent and repeatedly had sex with her while she slept, according to Mueller. C.B. attempted to fend him off on one such occasion, he instead allegedly restrained her and yanked her hair while she yelled for him to stop.
His restrictions were “no touching the face” and “no touching the hair.” He struck her face again. He called her “white crap” and spat on her often.
Next day, Mueller informed the jurors. “C.B.” reported the incident to a Church of Scientology ethics officer and said, “You can’t rape your 2D.” Stop using that word. Mueller testified that she was “out-exchange” with Masterson, meaning she should have sex with him whenever he wanted.
In her conversation with N.T., Mueller related how she went to Masterson’s house, felt sick from drinking, and was reportedly told to go into the jacuzzi, shower, and bed.
Despite N.T. telling Masterson, “I don’t want to do this,” he allegedly nevertheless assaulted her in the shower and on the bed, saying, “She was out of it and very afraid.” He allegedly ejaculated on her stomach after she later vomited, according to Mueller.
The charges made by the ladies were then refuted by Masterson’s attorney, who told the jury, “There’s no rape kit evidence… no voicemail evidence” and disregarded references to Scientology, according to Deadline. “Three nights with three women 20 years ago,” he said, “and whether or not the prosecution can prove beyond a reasonable doubt” that Masterson raped these women is all that’s at stake in this case.
In March 2017, the LAPD’s Robbery Homicide Division revealed numerous of the actor’s sexual assault complaints. In November 2017, HuffPost reported that Masterson raped a fourth woman in the early 2000s. 2020 saw Masterson charged.
Masterson told PEOPLE, “This is totally absurd,” through his lawyer. I won’t fight my ex-girlfriend in public as she’s been baiting me to do for two years. The public will now know how this woman railroaded me. I want to beat her in court. When her lawsuit is dismissed, I will sue her and the other bandwagoners for harming my family and me.
The ladies went into depth about their allegations against the actor during the preliminary hearing from last year. Variety said last week that the actor’s religious beliefs and the Church of Scientology’s alleged role in the attacks would not be talked about much during the trial.
During a pre-trial hearing, Judge Charlaine Olmedo stated that “this is not going to turn into a trial on Scientology.”
