Danny Masterson’s mugshot released
LOS ANGELES - For the first time since being convicted, actor Danny Masterson's official mugshot has been released by the California Department of Corrections.
The 47-year-old "That '70s Show" actor was convicted in May of raping two women at his Hollywood Hills home roughly two decades ago. He was sentenced in September to 30 years to life in prison.
According to reports, Masterson was transferred to North Kern State Prison in Delano, Calif., on Wednesday.
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His case was heard twice by a jury. In 2020, Masterson was arrested and charged with three counts of rape by force or fear involving three women on separate occasions. During last year's trial, jurors leaned in favor of acquittal on all three counts — voting 10-2 on one count, 8-4 on another and 7-5 on the third — but they were unable to reach a unanimous decision, leading to the mistrial on Nov. 30.
Prosecutors confirmed in January that they wanted to retry the actor, and Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo rejected a defense effort to have the charges dismissed. In his final argument, Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller told the jury, "This defendant drugged and raped each one of these victims. ... It is time to hold Mr. Masterson accountable for what he has done."
Defense attorney Philip Kent Cohen had urged jurors during his closing argument to acquit his client, questioning the credibility of the alleged victims.
In his rebuttal argument during the retrial, Mueller said the three alleged victims were — like Masterson — members of the Church of Scientology, and told jurors that the church retaliated against them.
The jury deadlocked on another rape charge involving a third alleged victim, who was a former longtime girlfriend of Masterson. Prosecutors announced in July that they would not retry the actor on that charge, and it was dismissed July 11.
Before he was sentenced, his co-stars, Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis wrote letters to the judge indicating they considered Masterson a "role model" and a great friend. However, after writing the letter, Kutcher and Kunis were faced with criticism. Kutcher then resigned as chairman of the board of an anti-child-sex-abuse organization he co-founded in 2009. Kutcher and Kunis were among dozens of people who wrote to Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo in support of Masterson, including fellow "That '70s Show" co-stars Debra Jo Rupp and Kurtwood Smith, actor Giovanni Ribisi and Masterson's brother-in-law, actor Billy Baldwin.
City News Service contributed to this report