Danny Masterson has finally been sentenced to 30 years in prison, months after being convicted on two charges of rape.
In a Los Angeles court on Thursday, the “That ’70s Show” star was sentenced to 30 years in prison. He was facing 30 years to life in prison after being found guilty on two of three counts. So the punishment comes as no surprise.
As previously reported, he was convicted on two charges in May, but the jury deadlocked on the third. He was originally accused in 2020, with the three women alleging that the occurrences occurred between 2001 and 2003 while he was working on his comedy series.
Recall that Masterson had a trial in October, but it ended in a mistrial a month later after the jury was unable to reach a resolution. The actor’s team attempted to get it dismissed, but he was finally retried and convicted.
After Masterson’s mistrial, his attorney, Philip Cohen, told us that the case was “about nothing other than the credibility of the three accusers, and that credibility could only be determined by comparing, contrasting, and focusing on the ever-evolving statements given by the women.”
After being found guilty, it was learned Masterson was not placed in the general population at the L.A. County Men’s Central Jail, where he has been awaiting his sentence, but rather in “administrative segregation,” where high-profile inmates such as O.J. Simpson and Suge Knight have previously stayed.
Danny Masterson appears to be optimistic that his convictions will be reversed on appeal.
Shawn Holley, one of Danny’s lawyers, told sources that “for the past several months, a team of the country’s top appellate lawyers has been reviewing the trial transcripts.” They have identified a number of key factual and constitutional problems that they will address in briefs to both state and federal appeal courts.”
“The errors that occurred in this case are substantial,” Holley says, “and unfortunately, they led to verdicts that are not supported by the evidence.”
“And, while we have great respect for the jury in this case and for our system of justice in general,” she continues, “they sometimes get it wrong.” That’s exactly what occurred here.”
Holley concludes…”Mr. Masterson did not commit the crimes for which he has been convicted, and we—and the best and brightest appellate lawyers in the country—are confident that these convictions will be overturned.”
