Danny Masterson: That 70s Show star ‘raped girls and hid behind Church of Scientology’, court docket informed

American actor Danny Masterson drugged girls’s drinks so he might rape them earlier than counting on his prominence within the Church of Scientology to keep away from the implications, a jury has been informed in closing arguments at his trial.

Masterson, a former star of the hit US sitcom That 70s Show, is on trial for rape for a second time after the primary resulted in a mistrial in December, with a jury deadlocked on all counts.

Prosecution lawyer Ariel Anson informed the jury: “The defendant drugs his victims to gain control. He does this to take away his victims’ ability to consent.

“You do not need to have intercourse? You do not have a selection. The defendant makes that selection for these victims. And he does it over and over and over.”

The 47-year-old has pleaded not responsible to raping three girls at his residence between 2001 and 2003.

His lawyer Philip Cohen informed jurors that inconsistencies within the girls’s tales are necessary to contemplate.

“[Ms Anson] did a very nice job of ignoring many of them,” Mr Cohen stated. “What she views as little inconsistencies are at the heart of trying to determine is somebody, reliable, credible, believable enough for a criminal conviction?”

Ms Anson took goal on the controversial Church of Scientology, of which Masterson is a member and all three girls are former members, all through her argument.

She emphasised that church authorities stored the ladies from accepting what had occurred to them and from reporting it to police for years.

“The church taught his victims ‘rape isn’t rape, you caused this, and above all, you are never allowed to go to law enforcement’,” she stated.

“In Scientology, the defendant is a celebrity and he is untouchable.”

The church has denied having any coverage discouraging members from going to legislation enforcement.

Leah Remini, an actress and former member of the church who has turn into certainly one of its most distinguished public opponents, sat within the courtroom, her arm round one of many accusers, who gave proof throughout each trials that Masterson raped her in 2003.

Ms Anson guided jurors by the proof of all three girls.

One is a former girlfriend who stated Masterson raped her 5 years into their relationship in 2001. The two others are girls he knew by social circles surrounding the church.

All informed the court docket they grew to become unusually groggy and had gaps in consciousness and reminiscence after consuming drinks Masterson gave them.

Judge Charlaine Olmedo allowed the prosecution in the course of the second trial to instantly say he drugged the ladies, after solely permitting descriptions of their states on the first.

There is not any bodily proof of any drugging. The investigation that led to Masterson’s arrest didn’t start for about 15 years after the ladies say they had been raped.

Ms Anson informed jurors the ladies’s accounts and the proof of a police toxicology skilled who described signs ought to be sufficient.

“We ask that you hold the defendant accountable,” she stated, “that you find him guilty”.

Fewer than half of jurors voted to convict Masterson on any rely after the primary trial.

Lawyers for either side rested their circumstances on Friday, three weeks into the second trial. Masterson’s legal professionals declined to name any witnesses.

His legal professional emphasised on Tuesday that jurors should discover him responsible if it past an inexpensive doubt, saying that even when they imagine it’s seemingly he’s responsible, they need to acquit.

“If you say, ‘I think he is probably guilty’, you know what that leads to?” Mr Cohen stated. “Not guilty.”