​Danny Masterson sentencing: A timeline of the investigation and trial

Taryn Ryder and Sam Matthews
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On Thursday, actor Danny Masterson is scheduled to be sentenced after being convicted of raping two women. Yahoo Entertainment's Taryn Ryder walks through the timeline of events from the origins of the investigation in 2017 to the guilty verdict handed down in May 2023.

Video Transcript

TARYN RYDER: So in March 2017, the LAPD confirmed that they were investigating Danny Masterson for alleged sexual assaults. Three female accusers came forward. We all reported about it at the time, but it sort of felt like it just went away. But once MeToo happened in October, that December, Netflix, because of a lot of pressure, launched an investigation. And he was eventually written off his hit show "The Ranch" with Ashton Kutcher, which was really the biggest thing he'd done since "That 70s Show".

This first went to trial last year. We first heard from the women who we aren't naming. They're all Jane Doe 1, Jane Doe 2, Jane Doe 3. And their stories were pretty horrific. They detailed in graphic detail violent, alleged sexual assaults all that took place at his home in the Hollywood Hills. In November, a mistrial was declared because the jury was deadlocked. The prosecution vowed to retry the case, and they did. That happened this past spring, and there were two big differences this time around.

They really honed in on the fact that Masterson allegedly drugged the women before assaulting them. In the first trial, the judge would not allow the term drugging. Scientology was also mentioned a lot more the second time around because a judge ruled that further evidence related to the church could be heard at the retrial. He's one of the church's most famous members aside from Tom Cruise. And all three women are ex-scientologists.

The Church of Scientology has denied having any policy that forbids their members from going to police like some of these women have claimed. But they all claim they've been harassed by the church ever since coming forward. And clearly, the new strategies worked. In May, a jury found Masterson guilty of two of the three counts of rape. And this week, he will be sentenced. He faces up to 30 years. I anticipate we will hear from the women again. I believe they'll be allowed to give victim impact statements.

One thing to note during both trials is Danny never took the stand in his own defense. No witnesses were called. So it's going to be really interesting to see who's going to try to make the case for leniency. Will he ask his famous friends like Ashton Kutcher for leniency? I don't know. That to me is one of the biggest question marks that will be interesting to see this week.