Danny Masterson seeks to overturn conviction for rape

The disgraced actor cites his attorney, anti-Scientology bias for jury’s verdict.

- BY JAMES QUEALLY

A BRANCH of the Church of Scientology in Los Angeles. The church denies that it interfered in the rape trial.

(DANIA MAXWELL Los Angeles Times)

Former television star Danny Masterson claims a mix of failures by his defense attorney and a police investigation that was biased against Scientology led to his conviction on two counts of rape, according to a lengthy motion filed Monday.

Masterson, 49, was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison in September 2023 after a jury found he sexually assaulted two women in the early 2000s, while at the height of his fame starring as the mercurial Steven Hyde in the sitcom “That ’70s Show.”

Masterson met both of the victims through the Church of Scientology at the time, and church doctrine was repeatedly made an issue at trial, with the victims claiming they were discouraged from reporting the actor to police for years.

Masterson was first charged with three counts of rape in 2020, but a jury deadlocked at his initial trial in 2022. Jurors were unable to reach a verdict again on a third rape count involving Masterson’s longtime girlfriend when handing down a conviction on the other two counts in 2023.

In a 183-page filing made public Monday, attorney Eric Multhaup claimed a mix of errors by defense attorney Phillip Cohen and what he described as a law enforcement investigation heavily biased against Masterson’s faith led to a wrongful conviction.