A Los Angeles jury found Danny Masterson guilty of two of three rape counts.
The protagonist of the television series That ’70s Show faces up to 30 years in prison. He was led out of court while restrained.
Three former Scientology members accused the actor of sexual assault at his residence in Hollywood between 2001 and 2003.
Prosecutors argued that Masterson avoided accountability by relying on his status as a prominent Scientologist.
The seven-woman, five-man jury deadlocked 8-4 on the third count after a week of deliberations.
In a statement to the Associated Press, one of his 2003 rape victims said, “I am experiencing a complex range of emotions – relief, exhaustion, strength, and sadness – knowing that my abuser, Danny Masterson, will be held accountable for his criminal behavior.”
CBS News reports that Masterson’s wife, actress and model Bijou Phillips, wailed as he was led away. Family and friends sat with stone faces.
In December 2022, another jury in an earlier trial was unable to reach a verdict.
The judge allowed the prosecutors to add fresh evidence in Masterson’s retrial.
The jury heard that the actor dosed his victims before raping them, even though he was not accused.
Masterson was accused of rape for the first time in 2017, at the height of the #MeToo movement. He responded that he had neither been charged with nor convicted of a crime and that, given the climate at the time, “it appeared that you were presumed guilty the moment you were accused.”
After a three-year investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department, charges were filed. Prosecutors dropped two cases due to insufficient evidence and the statute of limitations.
The Church of Scientology refuted prosecutors’ claims that it covered up the assaults during the trial.
Masterson and each of his three accusers were Scientologists at the time of the assaults. Several women said they waited years to disclose the rape because Church of Scientology staff discouraged them.
Instead, they were compelled to rely on the “internal justice system” of the Church, according to prosecutors.
According to prosecutors, Scientology officials informed one survivor she would be expelled from the Church unless she signed a non-disclosure agreement and accepted a payment of $400,000 (£320,000).
Judge Charlaine Olmedo permitted both parties to discuss Scientology’s doctrine and practices.
During the trial, however, Deputy District Attorney Ariel Anson told the jury, “The Church taught his victims, ‘Rape isn’t rape, you caused this, and above all, you are never allowed to go to law enforcement.'”
The defense attempted to undermine the credibility of the “Jane Does” throughout the trial by emphasizing inconsistencies in their testimony and their alleged desire for “revenge” against their former church.
During closing arguments, Masterson’s defense attorney stated regarding the survivors, “If you are looking for reasons why people are not being truthful, there are reasons everywhere.”
Although the Church of Scientology was not a defendant in the case, a lawyer with connections to the Church sent an email to the district attorney’s office before closing arguments to complain about how the Church was portrayed during the retrial.
The defence said the prosecution relied heavily on drug use testimony in the absence of force or violence.
Masterson’s attorneys unsuccessfully attempted to have the trial proclaimed a mistrial.
