US actor Danny Masterson was given a minimum of 30 years in prison for the rape of two women at his house 20 years ago.
Masterson was found guilty in May of administering drugs and afterwards engaging in non-consensual sexual acts with individuals who were also affiliated with the Church of Scientology.
These incidents occurred between 2001 and 2003 at the actor’s residence located in the affluent Hollywood Hills neighbourhood of Los Angeles.
The defendant, Masterson, faced a second trial for rape at the age of 47, following a mistrial in November due to the inability of a previous jury to reach a unanimous verdict.
The jury in the retrial was unable to reach a unanimous decision over an additional rape charge involving a third lady. The aforementioned charge was dismissed.
Masterson has been detained until the imposition of his sentence subsequent to his conviction.
The three ladies who were at the centre of the accusations against Masterson at the time were Church of Scientology members. Two of them said that they had been discouraged from calling law enforcement by church leaders.
In their closing remarks, Masterson’s attorneys questioned why the court had heard “so much about Scientology,” and the defence had claimed that prejudice towards the organisation may have been a driving force.
The Church of Scientology expressed disapproval towards the allegation that it had made efforts to suppress the grievances.
“The church has no policy prohibiting or discouraging members from reporting criminal conduct of anyone, Scientologists or not, to law enforcement,” a statement said.
“Quite the opposite, church policy explicitly demands Scientologists abide by all laws of the land.”
