Danny Masterson, an American actor best known for his role on That ’70s Show, was sent to California State Penitentiary this Wednesday to serve a 30-year prison sentence on two counts of rape.
Masterson, 47, was booked into North Kern State Prison and released his first prison photo, authorities said Wednesday. [mug shot, na expressão em inglês].
In the photo, the actor appeared in an orange prison uniform, with long hair and a beard.
Danny Masterson, currently being held in the Los Angeles County Jail where the trial took place, was sentenced in September to 30 years in prison on two counts of rape.
The 47-year-old comedian, also known as a member of the Church of Scientology, was sentenced to the maximum sentence he faced.
Masterson will have to wait more than 25 years before he is eligible for parole. His lawyers have already announced that they will appeal the verdict.
During the trial, three women, also Scientologists, accused the actor of raping them at his Hollywood Hills home between 2001 and 2003.
The jury agreed on two charges, but did not reach the consensus needed to reach a verdict on the third.
At the hearing, the prosecutor suggested that the actor used drugs and raped his victims.
The case, brought in 2017 following allegations against former producer Harvey Weinstein and kickstarting the #MeToo movement, has also raised questions about the role of the Church of Scientology.
Two of the victims assured that a well-established organization in Los Angeles dissuaded them from contacting the police.
Masterson’s defense insisted that the plaintiffs’ story had changed over the years and suggested that bias against the Church of Scientology may have been a factor in the trial.
At the previous trial in November, a different jury declined to reach a decision after failing to reach a unanimous decision.
Danny Masterson became famous in the late 1990s for his role in That ’70s Show alongside Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher.
More recently, he also appeared alongside the latter in the Netflix series The Ranch, but was removed in 2017 after the LAPD confirmed they were investigating sexual assault allegations against him.
Following the actor’s arrest in June 2020, Los Angeles County prosecutors announced they had dropped two more sexual assault charges against him due to lack of evidence and the statute of limitations.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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