LOS ANGELES — A California appeals court on Tuesday upheld Danny Masterson’s 2023 convictions for two counts of forcible rape, leaving in place the actor’s sentence of 30 years to life in prison.
“The judgment is affirmed,” a three-justice panel of the Second District Court of Appeal, Division Two, wrote in an 89-page opinion. Acting Presiding Justice Chavez wrote the unanimous decision, joined by Justices Richardson and Goorvitch.
The opinion is unpublished, meaning it cannot be cited as precedent in other California cases. Masterson’s attorneys said they will ask the California Supreme Court to review it.
The Case
Masterson, 50, was convicted in May 2023 of raping two women, identified in court papers as J.B. and N.T., at his Hollywood Hills home in 2003. The jury deadlocked on a third count involving a third woman, and prosecutors later dismissed it. A 2022 trial ended in a mistrial.
On appeal, the defense raised 11 claims of error. The panel rejected each one and found that, because there were no individual errors, there was no cumulative error either.
Statute of Limitations
The defense argued the charges, filed in 2020, were barred by California’s 10-year statute of limitations for forcible rape.
The court disagreed. Because the jury found Masterson had raped more than one victim, his crimes fell under California’s One Strike law, which sets a sentence of 15 years to life. State law allows offenses punishable by life in prison to be prosecuted “at any time.”
Relying on a 2010 appellate ruling, People v. Perez, the panel rejected the defense argument that the One Strike term was a sentence enhancement that should be disregarded when setting the deadline.
Scientology and Delayed Reporting
Masterson and the women were affiliated with the Church of Scientology at the time. The accusers testified that they disclosed the assaults to church ethics officers, who discouraged them from going to police. The church has denied those allegations and said it has no policy against members reporting crimes to law enforcement.
The Church of Scientology International filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting Masterson’s appeal.
The defense argued that the Scientology evidence violated the First Amendment and that Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo was hostile to the church. The panel rejected both arguments.
It found the evidence relevant “to understand the victims’ behavior toward defendant and their interactions with him,” including their delay in reporting to police. “The jury in this case was not asked to determine the truth or falsity of Scientology doctrine or beliefs,” the court wrote.
The judge’s statements, “viewed in context, evidence no animus or departure from neutrality regarding Scientology,” the panel found.
J.B. reported Masterson to police in 2004, but prosecutors declined to file charges. The panel rejected a claim that the 16-year delay violated his right to due process, describing it as “investigative delay as the result of additional victims coming forward.”
Other Claims
The panel also upheld rulings quashing defense subpoenas for the women’s communications with one another and limiting evidence to rebut their harassment claims. It rejected an ineffective-assistance claim, finding Masterson had shown no prejudice.
Appeal Versus New Trial
An appellate court does not rehear witnesses. It reviews the trial record for legal errors. Had the panel found a prejudicial error, the typical remedy would have been a new trial, not an acquittal. Because it affirmed, the convictions stand.
Defense Response
Cliff Gardner, Masterson’s lead appellate attorney, said the court ignored “extraordinary new evidence,” including statements in which both women described their encounters with Masterson as “consensual and positive.”
“Danny is serving a life sentence for crimes he did not commit,” Gardner said.
Gardner said the court also denied a related habeas corpus petition. Eric Multhaup, who represents Masterson in those proceedings, said the court “did not address any of the exculpatory evidence” in the petition.
Masterson is serving his sentence at the California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo.
The Second District Court of Appeal’s opinion in People v. Masterson, No. B333069, is available through the California Courts website at appellate.courts.ca.gov.