Danny Masterson had sat stone-faced in court Thursday as his victims criticized him for raping them; one of them called him “pathetic, disturbed and completely violent.”
“When you raped me, you robbed me,” said N. Trout, one of two women the “That 70s Show” star was convicted of raping in his Hollywood-area home in 2003.
“That is rape, a theft of the spirit.”
The woman, whose identity was not fully revealed because she was the victim of a sexual crime, had been raped so brutally that she vomited in her mouth, prosecutors revealed.
He called the actor “pathetic, disturbed and completely violent” as his distraught wife, Bijou Phillips, looked on before he was sentenced to 30 years behind bars.
“The world is better off with you in prison.
“You like to hurt women. It’s your addiction. It is without a doubt your favorite thing to do,” N. Trout read in her victim impact statement Thursday.
“Life is precious and fragile. Find your heart… Learn something. Read books. Listen to the brightness of nothingness and recover.”
Actor Danny Masterson was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in prison for raping two women in 2003.KAT/MEGA
Still, she told him, “I forgive you.”
His other victim, identified only in court as Jen B., also told Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo on Thursday that the actor “has not shown a shred of remorse for the pain he caused.
The actor was convicted of violently raping the two women in his Hollywood home. He appears in the photo with his wife, Bijou Philips. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
“He knew he should be behind bars for the safety of all the women he came into contact with,” he said, while expressing remorse for not having reported the crime sooner.
“I am very sorry and very upset. I wish I had reported it to the police sooner.”
Prosecutors laid out how Masterson used his celebrity and prominence in the Church of Scientology, where his victims were also members, to elude the law and avoid accountability.
“I’m sorry, Leah is not behind this,” Jen B. said, referring to actress Leah Remini, a former church member who has become an outspoken critic.
The victims testified that Masterson gave them drinks that made them pass out and proceeded to rape them.
Prosecutors said N. Trout was raped so brutally that she vomited in her mouth and begged Masterson to at least use a condom.
When the women reported Masterson to Scientology officials, they were told they had not been raped and were put through an ethics program.
They told the court that Scientology officials also warned them not to report the crime to police because Masterson was a high-ranking member of the church.
Defense attorneys stated that the sexual acts were consensual.KAT/MEGA
Masterson has denied any wrongdoing, but did not testify in court nor did his attorneys call any witnesses to the stand.
Instead, the defense argued that the sexual acts were consensual and accused the women of coordinating stories to discredit the former Hollywood star.
The actor was never charged with any drug charges and there is no toxicological evidence to support the woman’s story.
The Church of Scientology has also denied any wrongdoing, saying in a statement after the sentencing that it has “no policy prohibiting or discouraging members from reporting criminal conduct to anyone, Scientologist or not, to authorities.”
He also denied ever harassing any of the women.
Prosecutors laid out how Masterson used his celebrity and prominence in the Church of Scientology, where his victims were also members, to elude the law and avoid accountability.
Masterson rose to fame in “That 70s Show,” which also starred Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher and Topher Grace.ROBERT SEBREE/FOX
But one of the women told reporters after Thursday’s hearing how she was shunned and ostracized for going to authorities in 2004.
“I lost everything. I lost my religion. I lost my ability to contact anyone I had known or loved my entire life,” he said.
“I didn’t exist outside of the world of Scientology, I had to start my life over at age 29. It seemed like the world I knew didn’t want me to live.”
Trout also said, after the sentencing: “I no longer have to carry your shame with me. Now you have to put up with that shame. You have to sit in a cell and endure it.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn