`That 70s Show’ actor Danny Masterson charged in 3 rapes
LOS ANGELES (AP) — “That ’70s Show” actor Danny Masterson was charged with the rapes of three women in the early 2000s, Los Angeles prosecutors said Wednesday, the culmination of a three-year investigation that resulted in a rare arrest of a famous Hollywood figure in the #MeToo era.
The three counts of rape by force or fear against Masterson were filed Tuesday, and an arrest warrant isssued. Masterson, 44, was arrested late Wednesday morning, jail records showed. He was released a few hours later after posting bond and is scheduled to be arraigned Sept. 18.
Masterson’s attorney Tom Mesereau said his client is
innocent, and “we’re confident that he will be exonerated when all the
evidence finally comes to light and witnesses have the opportunity to
testify.”
Prosecutors allege that Masterson raped a 23-year-old
woman sometime in 2001, a 28-year-old woman in April of 2003, and a
23-year-old woman he had invited to his Hollywood Hills home between
October and December of 2003.
If convicted, he could face up to 45 years in prison.
Prosecutors
declined to file charges in two other Masterson cases that police had
investigated, one because of insufficient evidence and the other because
the statute of limitations had expired.
Masterson has been married to actor and model Bijou Phillips since 2011.
“Obviously,
Mr. Masterson and his wife are in complete shock considering that these
nearly 20-year old allegations are suddenly resulting in charges being
filed, but they and their family are comforted knowing that ultimately
the truth will come out,” said Mesereau, who has previously represented
Michael Jackson and Bill Cosby in their trials for sexual crimes.
“The people who know Mr. Masterson know his character and know the allegations to be false.”
The
women, whose names were not made public, issued a statement through
their attorneys saying they have suffered “harassment, embarrassment and
re-victimization” since they began cooperating with authorities.
“We
are thankful that the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office is
finally seeking criminal justice against Masterson,” the statement said.
“We are confident that the truth will be known and hope that the
charges filed today are the first steps in this long journey of healing,
justice, and holding those that victimized us accountable.”
The
alleged rapes came at the height of Masterson’s fame as he starred on
the retro sitcom “That ’70s Show” alongside Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis
and Topher Grace. The series ran on Fox TV from 1998 to 2006 and has had
a long afterlife in reruns.
He had reunited with Kutcher on the
Netflix western sitcom “The Ranch” when the LAPD investigation of him
was revealed in March 2017. The news did not have immediate career
repercussions for Masterson, but later in the year, after allegations
against Harvey Weinstein shook Hollywood’s culture, he was written off
the show.
Masterson decried the Hollywood atmosphere that led to
his losing the job, and also suggested at the time that his high-profile
membership in the Church of Scientology was leading to his persecution.
He said in a 2017 statement that “in the current climate, it seems as if you are presumed guilty the moment you are accused.”
Because
police were already investigating him, Masterson’s case was not among
those taken up by a task force formed by Los Angeles County District
Attorney Jackie Lacey to investigate sexual misconduct in the
entertainment industry. That task force has declined to file charges in
more than 20 cases in the two years of its existence, charging only
Weinstein himself.
Los Angeles prosecutors have begun efforts to
bring Weinstein to California to face charges of rape and sexual
assault. He is being held in a New York prison after being convicted of
similar charges earlier this year.
Masterson’s case still stands
out as just the second set of charges Los Angeles prosecutors have filed
against a famous Hollywood figure in the #MeToo era.
Masterson
worked steadily starting in the early 1990s, largely in TV sitcoms
including “Cybill” and “Men at Work” along with “That ’70s Show” and
“The Ranch.”
His film credits include the 2008 Jim Carrey comedy “Yes Man,” “The Bridge to Nowhere” in 2009, in which he starred with his future wife Phillips, and 2011’s “The Chicago 8,” in which he played 1960s antiwar activist Jerry Rubin.
AP Television Writer Lynn Elber contributed to this report.