Rape allegations aired against '70s Show' actor Masterson - The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A authoritative connected Tuesday described rape allegations by 3 women against “That ’70s Show” histrion Danny Masterson from 2 decades agone that contained immoderate of the aforesaid disturbing elements.

Two women became woozy oregon passed retired aft a mates drinks and were tossed successful his blistery tub, Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller said successful his opening connection successful Masterson’s trial. One of them said helium dragged her to his furniture wherever she regained consciousness to find him having enactment with her. A 3rd woman, an ex-girlfriend, said she woke up to find him connected apical of her.

Masterson’s lawyer said the crushed the allegations had truthful overmuch successful communal is that the alleged victims violated a detective’s informing not to talk with each different and had “cross-pollinated” their accounts and undermined their credibility.

“If you talk to each different you volition contaminate this case,” they were told, defence lawyer Phillip Cohen said successful Los Angeles Superior Court. ”Speaking to each different and different witnesses is fatal to a case.”

Masterson, 46, has pleaded not blameworthy to 3 counts of forcible rape betwixt 2001 and 2003 astatine his Hollywood home, which functioned arsenic a societal hub erstwhile helium was astatine the tallness of his fame.

Cohen urged the jurors not to see Masterson’s affiliation with the Church of Scientology and its narration to the case, portion Mueller said that it helped explicate wherefore the women — each erstwhile members of the religion — waited truthful agelong to study the incidents.

Two of the alleged victims archetypal went to the religion to study what happened to them and were told it wasn’t rape and that reporting it to authorities oregon telling others astir it would extremity with them being ostracized by their closest friends and adjacent household members.

“You fundamentally go an force of the church,” Mueller said. “You suffer it all.”

Cohen said the lawsuit had thing to bash with the religion and helium repeatedly objected erstwhile it was brought up.

Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo sternly reminded the lawyers that Scientology would not predominate the trial.

The trial’s witnesser database is afloat of members and erstwhile members of the church, which has a beardown beingness successful Los Angeles and has counted galore celebrated figures among its members. The database includes erstwhile subordinate Lisa Marie Presley, the girl of Elvis Presley and erstwhile woman of Michael Jackson, a person of 1 of the alleged victims.

One of the women had been Masterson’s longtime girlfriend. Another was champion friends with his idiosyncratic assistant, and the third, an actress, was a newer acquaintance.

The person of his adjunct filed a constabulary study due to the fact that she was unhappy with the mode the Scientology morals committee handled her complaint. No charges were brought astatine the time.

In 2016, she connected and shared stories with the ex-girlfriend who is 1 of the accusers. Each filed a constabulary study that year. Masterson’s erstwhile woman said she did truthful aft telling her communicative to her husband, who helped her recognize she had been raped. The 3rd pistillate went to constabulary successful 2017.

Cohen said the bosom of the defence was a “sizzle reel of inconsistencies” betwixt what the women initially said and however their accounts changed implicit time.

A pistillate who said she was raped aft passing retired from drinking immoderate of a fruity reddish vodka portion Masterson gave her told constabulary she had consensual enactment with him respective months earlier nether akin circumstances. She present says that she didn’t consent. Masterson doesn’t look charges implicit those allegations.

Another alleged unfortunate went to Masterson’s location aft helium invited her over. She acceptable crushed rules that she wouldn’t person enactment with him and told him “no sex” aggregate times arsenic fooling astir progressed, Mueller said. He described Masterson’s alleged battle arsenic being truthful forceful that the pistillate vomited successful her rima and was “limp similar a rag doll.”

But Cohen asserted the pistillate stayed successful furniture with Masterson for hours talking and listening to euphony and thought “we’ll astir apt commencement dating” aft she left. He said she was dismayed erstwhile Masterson didn’t telephone oregon substance her.

The erstwhile woman said that aft she broke up with Masterson she had consensual enactment with him 2 different times.

If convicted, Masterson could look up to 45 years successful prison.

The Associated Press does not typically sanction radical who accidental they were victims of intersexual maltreatment unless they travel guardant publicly.

Masterson was 1 of the archetypal Hollywood figures to beryllium charged successful the #MeToo era. His is 1 of respective high-profile intersexual battle cases that person gone to proceedings astir the 5th day of the reporting of accusations against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, which transformed the #MeToo question into an planetary reckoning.

Weinstein’s 2nd rape and intersexual battle trial — he’s already been convicted successful New York — is happening simultaneously, conscionable down the hallway from Masterson’s. In New York, civilian trials person begun for histrion Kevin Spacey and for screenwriter and manager Paul Haggis, who are some being sued for intersexual assault.

Haggis is himself a Scientology dissident, and the justice successful that lawsuit is allowing him to reason that the religion is down the allegations against him.

From 1998 until 2006, Masterson starred arsenic Steven Hyde connected Fox’s “That ’70s Show,” which made stars of Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis and Topher Grace and is getting an upcoming Netflix reboot with “That ’90s Show.”

Masterson had reunited with Kutcher connected the Netflix drama “The Ranch” but was written disconnected the amusement erstwhile an LAPD probe was revealed successful December 2017.

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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton connected Twitter: https://twitter.com/andyjamesdalton