Masterson’s wife, actor and model Bijou Phillips, who had sat stony-faced throughout both trials, gasped when the conviction was pronounced and sobbed as he was brought into custody.
After debating for seven days over two weeks, the jury of five men and seven women came to their decision. On the third count, which claimed Masterson had sexually assaulted a previous girlfriend, they were unable to reach a decision. The verdict had received an 8-4 vote in favor.
Masterson, 47, will remain behind bars until his sentence is rendered. The judge instructed Masterson and his attorneys to return to court on August 4 for a hearing even though no sentence date has yet been scheduled.
“I am experiencing a complex array of emotions — relief, exhaustion, strength, and sadness — knowing that my abuser, Danny Masterson, will face accountability for his criminal behavior,” said one of the women, who Masterson knew as a fellow churchgoer and was found guilty of raping at his home in 2003.
In the statement, a second woman, a former girlfriend whose count caused the jury to reach a deadlock, said: “While I’m encouraged that Danny Masterson will face some criminal punishment, I am devastated that he has dodged criminal accountability for his heinous conduct against me.”
Masterson’s representative declined to comment, although it is almost expected that his attorneys will file an appeal.
Prosecutors retried Masterson in December after a mistrial due to a hung jury. They claimed that between 2001 and 2003, he brutally raped three women in his Hollywood Hills home. They informed the jury that he had spiked the women’s drinks in order to rape them. All three women were members of the church at the time, and they claimed he utilized his status there to evade punishment for many years.
The three women bravely came forward and revealed their stories, and for that, we are grateful, said Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón in a statement following the verdict on Wednesday. “Their resilience and bravery have inspired us all.”
No witnesses were cited by Masterson’s attorneys, and he declined to testify. The defense asserted that the acts were consensual and worked to undermine the women’s accounts by calling attention to changes and contradictions that they claimed indicated collaboration between the parties.
In his closing argument, defense counsel Philip Cohen reminded the jury of their instructions and said, “You should consider not believing anything the witness says if you find that a witness in this case intentionally lied about something.
In the first trial, the Church of Scientology had a major impact; but, in the second trial, it may have been even more influential. Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo permitted expert testimony on church policy from a former member of the leadership of Scientology who has since become a well-known adversary.
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