Danny Masterson, the former actor known for playing Stephen Hyde in That 70’s Show has been convicted of rape and sentenced to 30 years in prison, according to Entertainment Weekly. While the charges against Masterson have been around for some time, it was only following a retrial earlier this year that he was found guilty of his crimes. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo was responsible for making the sentence official, ensuring that Masterson can’t hurt anyone else.
Masterson was first arrested in the summer of 2020, initially accused of raping three women on separate occasions, sometime between 2001 and 2003. Masterson pleaded not guilty to the charges and paid a $3.3 million bail. His first trial was in October 2022, but was declared a mistrial after the jury could not reach a verdict on the three counts.
Earlier this year, a retrial resulted in the jury finding him guilty of two counts of rape, while remaining deadlocked on the third count, resulting in a guilty conviction on two counts of rape. While they came to their conclusion back in May of this year, it was only today that Masterson‘s 30-year sentence was handed out.
Masterson Destroys His Legacy
Masterson rose to fame on That 70’s Show and made a high-profile return to TV on Netflix‘s The Ranch, alongside former co-star Ashton Kutcher. His character was written off the show in 2017 following the first set of accusations, marking a complete shift in the actor’s public image, now entirely associated with the allegations. And now, Masterson will spend the next three decades in prison, after putting several women through a traumatic, violent experience. While this marks a piece of welcome news for the women involved, their legal hurdles are still not completely behind them. According to the EW report, the women — all of whom were members of the Church of Scientology — filed a civil suit against the church and against Masterson back in August 2019, accusing him of stalking them following their accusations. As of this writing, that case is still open.
via Collider