Four women, all members of the Church of Scientology, have accused That '70s Show star Danny Masterson of rape. Photo / Getty
Four women, all members of the Church of Scientology, have accused That '70s Show star Danny Masterson of rape. Photo / Getty
Rape allegations against That '70s Show star Danny Masterson have resurfaced in wake of the Harvey Weinstein sex abuse scandal and four women have now come forward to accuse the actor of sex attacks.
The historic claims against the 41-year-old, who is starring in The Ranch on Netflix, all date back to the early 2000s, the Daily Mail reports.
Despite "overwhelming" evidence, the actor has never been charged with any crime, according to the Huffington Post website.
The women, all members of the Church of Scientology, also claim that the organisation covered up the alleged sexual assaults of Masterson, a fellow Scientologist.
The case began in 2004 when a woman filed a report with the Los Angeles Police Department saying Masterson raped her in 2003 when she was "passed out".
She claims she woke up when she realised what was happening but he choked her until she passed out again. However, the case was eventually closed after the Church of Scientology submitted more than 50 affidavits from Scientologists who denied the woman's account.
The police report detailing the alleged assault from one victim was obtained by anti-scientology site The Underground Bunker.
The woman claimed that the church had "threatened her" and if she told the police she would "lose everything and everyone".
She added: "Then they put me on a massive ethics programme as punishment. My rapist was not punished at all.
"They didn't even call him to talk about it. I ended up breaking up with him two months later."
Danny Masterson (left) currently stars in The Ranch with Ashton Kutcher. Photo / Netflix
In Scientology, reporting another church member to law enforcement is considered a "suppressive act" and can lead to punishment or expulsion from the church.
Sources familiar with the case told Buzzfeed the woman's file had mysteriously vanished in 2004, leaving Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller to reconstruct it.
The other three women allegedly reported their rapes directly to the Church of Scientology.
One of the women who filed claims against Masterson dated him for several years.
The actor's team said she only brought the case forward because of Leah Remini's A&E miniseries, Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, which aired this year and targeted the church.
Remini is an outspoken former Scientologist and has been very public in her criticism of the church, even encouraging members to walk away from it.
Masterson's team told the theHollywood Reporter said: "We are aware of [the alleged victim's] 16-year-old allegations. It was only after [the alleged victim] was in contact with Leah Remini that she made allegations of sexual assault by Mr. Masterson.
"Based on reading the anti-Scientology blog that posted this story, these false allegations appear to be motivated to boost Leah Remini's anti-Scientology television series since [alleged victim's] only came forward after connecting with Leah Remini."
Remini told the Underground Bunker that because of her TV series, she was contacted by several people who said they were mistreated by the church, including one of the women who made the sexual assault claim against Masterson.
Actress and former Scientologist Leah Remini. Photo / Getty
Brettler said the LAPD looked into all the allegations again after Remini's exposé but found no evidence to press charges and handed their findings to the district attorney's office.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office received the case in April this year and sources within the attorney's office, and close to the case, told the Post that they found compelling, even "overwhelming" evidence to back up the women's claims.
They said that included audio, emails sent to and from Scientology officers at the time of the alleged rapes, computer evidence and a "threatening" handwritten letter Masterson sent to one of the alleged victims.
One of the sources described the legal process as being "slow rolled".
The case seems to have resurfaced again amid the Weinstein scandal, which saw the Miramax producer accused of rape and sexual harassment by multiple women including high-profile stars like Gwyneth Paltrow.
The scandal has unearthed a series of claims against other Hollywood stars including Oscar winner Kevin Spacey.
After the revelations, the rape claims against Masterson have hit the headlines once more.
Today, Remini tweeted her thanks to the media for covering the story again, sharing a link to the Huffington Post story with the caption: "Thank you to @yashar and @TonyOrtega94 for caring about this story."
This year, it was revealed that Masterson hired Thomas Mesereau as his criminal defence attorney - the same lawyer Bill Cosby used for his retrial of sexual assault charges in Pennsylvania.
Masterson also hired Hollywood litigator Marty Singer, who represents, among others, film director Brett Ratner, who has been accused of sexual misconduct.
A spokesperson for Mesereau and a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office both declined to comment to reporters' requests.
Masterson started his career as a child model and actor and got his break-out role in the 1998-2006 Fox television comedy series That '70s Show, in which he played the rebel adolescent Hyde.
He is currently appearing in the Netflix comedy The Ranch and has been married to actress Bijou Phillips since 2011.
Netflix does not appear to have taken any action against Masterson, who stars in The Ranch with former That '70s Show co-star Ashton Kutcher.
Yet within days of allegations of sexual misconduct against House of Cards' star Kevin Spacey, Netflix announced it had suspended filming on the drama's sixth season indefinitely.
