Masterson Sentencing: California Appeals Court Affirms 30-Year Term

Danny Masterson will remain in prison for at least 30 years following a unanimous ruling by a California appeals court on Tuesday. The decision confirms his 2023 convictions for two counts of rape, rejecting every legal challenge raised by his defense team. The actor, 50, faces a sentence of 30 years to life in prison, a term that now stands after the appellate review.

The three-judge panel from the California Second District Court of Appeal issued an 89-page opinion finding no serious errors in the trial proceedings. Masterson was convicted at a retrial after his initial 2022 trial ended with a deadlocked jury. In the second proceeding, jurors also failed to reach a verdict on a third count involving a woman who alleged she was raped in 2001. The two upheld counts involve women who accused Masterson of assaults in 2003.

Both accusers were members of the Church of Scientology at the time of the alleged incidents. They testified that church officials told them they had not been raped and warned them against reporting a high-ranking member to police. The women described undergoing ethics programs after their internal reports, which they said contributed to their delay in contacting law enforcement. This context formed a central part of the evidentiary record during the trial.

Masterson's legal team argued that the trial judge displayed hostility toward Scientology and violated the actor's First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion. The appellate panel dismissed these claims, stating that the judge's comments showed no animus or departure from neutrality when viewed in context. The court further ruled that admitting evidence about Scientology did not require jurors to evaluate the truth of the church's doctrines.

The panel also rejected arguments concerning the statute of limitations and specific evidentiary rulings. They denied a separate habeas corpus petition that claimed Masterson did not receive adequate legal defense. Representatives for the actor did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.

Attorneys Cliff Gardner and Eric Multhaup, who represented Masterson on appeal, indicated plans to seek further review. They stated in a statement to Variety that they intend to appeal to the California Supreme Court and will also pursue a separate petition. The next step in the legal process depends on whether the state's highest court accepts the case for review.