Current:Home > StocksLeah Remini Speaks Out After "Dangerous" Danny Masterson Is Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison -FundTrack
Leah Remini Speaks Out After "Dangerous" Danny Masterson Is Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison
View
Date:2025-04-13 01:25:59
Leah Remini penned a strong message following Danny Masterson's sentencing for rape.
After the That ‘70s Show alum, who was found guilty of two counts of rape in May, was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison, the King of Queens star excoriated both Masterson and the Church of Scientology—of which he is a longtime member—while expressing her support for his victims.
"I am relieved that this dangerous rapist will be off the streets and unable to violently assault and rape women with the help of Scientology, a multi-billion-dollar criminal organization with tax-exempt status," Remini wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, Sept. 7. "Hearing the survivors read their victim impact statements aloud in court while the man who raped them and some of the very Scientologists who terrorized them over two decades were just a few feet away displayed a level of bravery that I am in awe of."
Furthermore, Remini, who was raised in the Church of Scientology and has becoming a vocal critic since leaving the organization, thanked the women for speaking up.
"The women who survived Danny's predation fought tirelessly for justice," she added. "Their tenacity, strength, and courage have given hope to all victims of Scientology that justice is possible. For that, we will forever be grateful. To the LAPD detectives, the LA District Attorney's office, Judge Olmedo, and the jury, we thank you for your fair and impartial approach to this case and trial."
Prosecutors had alleged that Masterson, who was arrested and charged on three counts of forcible rape in 2020, sexually assaulted three women in separate incidents between 2001 and 2003 at his Hollywood Hills home. Masterson's first trial in 2022 was declared a mistrial after a jury was unable to reach unanimous decisions for the three rape charges.
However, during Masterson's retrial, which took place earlier this year, the jury found him guilty on two counts. The jury was unable to did not reach a verdict on the third court.
The three women—identified as Jane Doe #1, Jane Doe #2 and Jane Doe #3—told the court they met Masterson through the Church of Scientology, later accusing the organization of pressuring them into not reporting the allegations to police, according to the Associated Press. The church denied their accusations in a May 31 statement obtained by E! News June 1, noting that the organization "has no policy prohibiting or discouraging members from reporting criminal conduct of anyone—Scientologists or not—to law enforcement."
Following The Ranch actor's sentencing, his lawyer Shawn Holley maintained that her client was innocent after the sentencing, noting in a statement to multiple outlets that a team of "top appellate lawyers in the country has been reviewing the transcripts of the trial" and "have identified a number of significant evidentiary and constitutional issues which they will address in briefs to both state and federal appellate courts."
The attorney—who had sought 15 years to life in prison, according to the Los Angeles Times—further indicated plans to appeal the sentencing.
Masterson, Holley added, "did not commit the crimes for which he has been convicted and we—and the appellate lawyers—the best and the brightest in the country—are confident that these convictions will be overturned."
E! News reached out to Masterson's attorneys for comment and has not heard back.
For its part, following Masterson's sentencing, the Church of Scientology released a statement, obtained by NBC News, calling the trial "an unprecedented violation of the First Amendment."
The organization added, "The Church was not a party to this case and religion did not belong in this proceeding as Supreme Court precedent has maintained for centuries."
(E! and NBC News are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
For free, confidential help, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or visit rainn.org.veryGood! (92)
Related
- Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
- E. Jean Carroll can seek more damages against Trump, judge says
- World’s Oceans Are Warming Faster, Studies Show, Fueling Storms and Sea Rise
- After Back-to-Back Hurricanes, North Carolina Reconsiders Climate Change
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- Priscilla Presley and Riley Keough Settle Dispute Over Lisa Marie Presley's Estate
- Eva Mendes Proves She’s Ryan Gosling’s No. 1 Fan With Fantastic Barbie T-Shirt
- Dakota Access Pipeline: Army Corps Is Ordered to Comply With Trump’s Order
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- Philadelphia woman killed by debris while driving on I-95 day after highway collapse
Ranking
- Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
- Check Out the 16-Mile Final TJ Lavin Has Created for The Challenge: World Championship Finalists
- Standing Rock Tribe Prepares Legal Fight as Dakota Oil Pipeline Gets Final Approval
- Democratic Candidates Position Themselves as Climate Hawks Going into Primary Season
- Israel lets Palestinians go back to northern Gaza for first time in over a year as cease
- When is it OK to make germs worse in a lab? It's a more relevant question than ever
- Most Americans say overturning Roe was politically motivated, NPR/Ipsos poll finds
- On 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Kamala Harris urges federal abortion protections
Recommendation
'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
Gigi Hadid Shares What Makes Her Proud of Daughter Khai
Keystone XL, Dakota Pipeline Green-Lighted in Trump Executive Actions
Muslim-American opinions on abortion are complex. What does Islam actually say?
Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
Iowa Alzheimer's care facility is fined $10,000 after pronouncing a living woman dead
Philadelphia woman killed by debris while driving on I-95 day after highway collapse
Native Americans left out of 'deaths of despair' research