Justice for Danny Masterson’s victims was delayed for years, but now that Masterson is officially a convicted rapist, it pleases me to see that Masterson isn’t getting “celebrity treatment” by the justice system. Last May, Masterson was convicted of two out of three rape charges. In September, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Just days after his sentencing, Bijou Phillips filed for divorce, and she seems very concerned about their joint assets. His conviction is currently being appealed, but Masterson will not be allowed out on bail while the appeal works its way through the system. The judge even cited his divorce as a reason why Masterson should not be allowed out on bail.
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge today denied bail pending appeal to convicted rapist Danny Masterson with worries the That 70s Show actor could make a run for it.
“If defendant’s conviction and sentence are upheld on appeal, he will likely remain in custody for decades and perhaps the rest of his life,” wrote Judge Charlaine Olmedo in an order Wednesday. “In light of the fact that defendant has no wife to go home to, defendant now has every incentive to flee and little reason to return to state prison to serve out the remainder of his lengthy sentence should his appeal be unsuccessful,” the judge added in reference to the ongoing divorce proceedings between Masterson and Bijou Phillips.
Transferred to North Kern State Prison in late December, the 47-year-old Masterson is currently serving a 30-year to life sentence on dual rape convictions. Under present Golden State statutes, he will be eligible for parole in 20 years. Not long after Masterson was sentenced in September and taken into custody, Phillips, who had been in court every day for her husband and was a strong advocate for him, filed for divorce. The couple have a young daughter, who has been placed entirely in Phillips’ custody, a well-placed source tells Deadline.
Masterson was first arrested in 2020 over the then alleged assaults that occurred between 2001 and 2003. After his arrest, and during his first and second trials, The Ranch actor was out on bail of $3 million. When the damning guilty verdict was delivered om May 31, the potential “flight risk,” as the judge said at the time, was led out of court and into the nearby Twin Towers LA County jail by sheriff’s deputies.
Supported by prosecutors in the LA County District Attorney’s office, the decision by Judge Olmedo to deny the actor his freedom while he appeals came after a hearing this morning in DTLA’s Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center.
Is Danny Masterson a flight risk? I don’t know. He stuck around long enough for two full trials (one of which ended in mistrial), but yeah, I can understand the argument of “he has no reason to stick around.” I’m glad he was denied bail and I really just hope that he rots in prison for the rest of his life.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
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- Los Angeles, CA – Actor Danny Masterson is in court once again as he stands trial on three charges of forcible rape. The jury in the case was unable to reach a decision after three days of deliberations and were ordered to return today. Judge Charlaine Olmedo replaced two jurors today after they had notified the court that they had tested positive for Covid. The judge replaced the jurors with two alternates and ordered that they begin deliberations again. Pictured: Bijou Phillips, Danny Masterson BACKGRID USA 28 NOVEMBER 2022 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Los Angeles, CA – Jury deliberations resumed today in the rape trial of “That ’70s Show” star Danny Masterson, one day after jurors were ordered to begin anew with two alternates added, following news that two panelists had tested positive for COVID-19. Pictured: Danny Masterson, Bijou Phillips BACKGRID USA 29 NOVEMBER 2022 BYLINE MUST READ: no byline@backgrid.com / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Los Angeles, CA – Danny Masterson is seen arriving in court today with wife Bijou Phillips, as jury is believed to be issuing their verdict today in his rape retrial case. The jury has been deliberating for over a week in the rape retrial after the first ended in a mistrial in December, with a jury deadlocked on all counts. Pictured: Danny Masterson, Bijou Phillips BACKGRID USA 30 MAY 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Hollywood, CA – **FILE PHOTO** Danny Masterson Found Guilty In Rape Trial. Pictured Here: Danny Masterson at the Olympus Has Fallen film premiere at The ArcLight Cinemas in Los Angeles, California. March 18, 2013. Pictured: Danny Masterson BACKGRID USA 31 MAY 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
Can a legal expert explain how a convicted felon would ever be eligible for bail? I thought bail was just for people awaiting trial? Even on appeal, his conviction stands, yes?
I’m not a legal expert, but I’ve seen some instances where convicted felons can be on bail – it’s usually non-violent crimes, and it’s up to the judge. A friend of my parents’ was caught up in a federal fraud trial – mostly b/c the person wouldn’t throw their colleagues under the bus. They were completely innocent, and the judge did not allow evidence which would have made the case more ambiguous.
They were convicted, but the judge knew there was a strong case for the appeal. They were on bail until the appeal, and they won. Conviction was overturned. I will add, however, that the court confiscated their passport while they were on bail waiting for the trial, which took 3+ years between the arraignment hearing to the start of the trial.
Thanks for that example. That sounds fair if an appeal has real merit and the convicted party is not in a position to reoffend while out on bail.
I am not a big fan of prison. A lot of people don’t belong there, particularly non violent offenders and those who need actual help, not rot in a place where they’re only made worse. Also, I’m not a fan of long life type sentences because I do believe in reform with the proper treatments. But, for rapists and murderers, there’s really no other option because they have a compulsion to hurt and destroy. Also, he’s taken zero accountability which is a blatant red flag toward rehabilitation. Some can’t even be rehabilitated at all.
I really assumed she filed for divorce for fiscal reasons initially, but now I’m not so sure as she’s another deterrent to him getting bail by starting divorce proceedings. I feel sorry for the little girl.
This x10000! I am not a fan of prison for non violent offenders and people who are not an ongoing danger to society. Halfway houses, rehab when needed, job training, service to society, and a reason to feel a stake in society in the future. I’m not sure how I feel about the worst white collar criminals, though. I like the idea of them having to live a working class life along side the people they screwed, but they likely have too many powerful friends for that to work long term.
But an unrepentant serial rapist is who prison is made for.
IDK I’m pretty anti-carceral overall–and sometimes that includes violent crimes. Like, what if a woman kills her abuser to save herself? That’s a “violent crime” by our justice system’s definition but I don’t see how locking up the victim is the right solution.
I highly recommend following Monica Cosby–an activist, educator, survivor, and former inmate. She talks a lot about the intersection of class and race and how incarceration replicates the power and control dynamics in abusive relationships.
Monica served 20 years for killing her abuser and when asked about “violent crime” she points to the fact that poverty is violence, racism is violence, misogyny is violence and violence begets violence.
And it’s not to say that I don’t think some people belong in jail–I absolutely DO. Some people are irredeemable and simply too dangerous to the public.
But I kinda feel that a lot of nuance is lost in the assertion that people should be locked up for violent crime. If a kid is growing up in a violent neighborhood and mimics what he sees for the sake of survival… I’m just not sure that locking him/her up and throwing away the key is the best solution particularly because prison is proven to exacerbate violent tendencies. That kid is a product of an environment that he never asked for, ya know? I really just wish we would do better with resources to reform inmates as well as resources for when inmates get out of prison and have to navigate a world that feels completely foreign to them. And that’s not even getting into how these situations are created: poverty, addiction, desperation, institutionalized racism, lack of access to housing, accessibility of guns, toxic masculinity…I could go on and on.
OK I’m rambling now but Miriame Kaba and Monica Cosby are great resources on this topic and far more articulate than I am lol.
@Kitten – I appreciate your points. I suppose I didn’t state it strongly enough with “not an ongoing danger to society.” There are absolutely cases where someone who has killed is not an ongoing threat to society. I’m not sure when rape or sexual assault could be classified as an isolated incident, but fully need to qualify that being involved in a death is not the same thing as being a murderer.
I really take issue with the verbiage in the cited article, calling the assaults “alleged”. He was found guilty of those rapes and convicted in a court of law by a jury of his peers. Nothing “alleged” about it at that point.
CoS has a lot of resources, and people in high places if they want they could help him disappear, even in the same country/state. So good, i’m glad they denied bail. He needs to rot in there and never see another day as a free man in his life.
I thought for sure the cult would escape him, then send him to live with Shelley.
Good point! I was just thinking “Where could he possibly travel with such a serious rape conviction?” but ofc the extensive resources of CO$ would be on his side.
Of course the daughter was placed w/ Phillips! She is the mother. Does the article really need a “well placed source” to state the obvious??
I found that oddly stated too. HE wasn’t going to be awarded custody, he is in jail. Who else besides mom?
Pretty sure he would just find ways to harrass his victims if he were out pending his appeal.
I used to live less than an hour’s drive from that prison (not that I knew it at the time). It’s in what I think of as the uglier part of the state–hot, dry, always dirt in the air from the hyper-intensive agriculture (almonds, citrus) & wreaking of the multitudinous surrounding dairies. Blech. Perfect spot for him.
Definitely a flight risk. TBH, I could see CO$ getting him on a plane to Mexico with all of their money and resources.
I don’t love the judge using that logic here. I DO think he is a flight risk bc as others have stated, the CoS has been known to make people disappear, they could help him to do so. And given that he essentially HAS a life sentence, I can see him feeling it was worth to the risk to TRY to flee. If he gets caught, his jail time will increase, but it’s already so long, does that matter?
But while I understand that his wife divorcing him gives him less of a reason to stay, stating that in a way puts the blame on HER. Would the judge have allowed bail if she HADN’T divorced him?
Also he has a daughter- if the wife leaving means “he has nothing to come home to” and ergo he is a flight risk, wouldn’t the daughter negate that?
Spending even 1 night in the twin towers would be a huge eye opener. lol. He deserves it all.
Danny had assault weapons. As a condition of release for his first rape trial he was ordered to hand over these guns. He did not comply with the court order although his lawyer fraudulently stated that he did. This was only discovered after second rape trial which he was found guilty of 2 felony rape charges.
Danny was sentenced to 2 consecutive terms of 15 years to life. Under California law due to multiple sexual assaults felony conditions this sentence becomes life imprisonment. He did not surrender them as required. Law enforcement discovered through the report by a gun shop owner that a person not destinated by documents filed by his attorney as the individual who would turn these weapons in to law enforcement. A 3rd party (a friend) who was not identified by the court went to an out-of-state gun shop. Heasked the gun shop owner to store them.
There was approximately 10 -11 guns. The vast majority were illegally modified assault weapons. Aaron Smith Levin was provided with pictures of these weapons. He posted the pictures of the weapons on his YouTube channel Growing Up In Scientology. He has a goofy intro. He mistakenly says that the sentence was 2 concurrent sentences of 15 years to life. He has provided the correct sentence in previous videos.
https://www.youtube.com/live/qcxdfyr6qS8?si=PdPEbs-Q6X6wkT9z
The one gun that he did not surrender has been identified as the one that he pointed before he raped one of the victims prior to raping her.
The failure to surrender these weapons, as well as continued failure to return weapon is one of the was one the reasons that the judge denied his request stating that he is danger to the community.
Sorry for the long post but I thought it was important to provide easy to understand information.