LOS ANGELES (US) – Actor Danny Masterson of “That 70s Show” fame has been charged with raping three women in separate incidents in 2001 and 2003, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office said on Wednesday.
The District Attorney’s Office said in a statement that it had declined to file sexual assault charges against Masterson in two other cases because of lack of evidence and the statute of limitations.
Masterson, 44, got his breakthrough in the 1998-2006 television comedy series “That 70s Show,” in which he played a rebel adolescent. He could not immediately be reached for comment.
In a statement issued to Variety, Tom Mesereau, Masterson’s attorney, vowed to fight the charges.
“Mr. Masterson is innocent, and we’re confident that he will be exonerated when all the evidence finally comes to light and witnesses have the opportunity to testify,” Mesereau said in the statement. “The people who know Mr. Masterson know his character and know the allegations to be false.”
The rape charges together carry a maximum sentence of 45 years to life in prison if Masterson is convicted, the District Attorney’s office said.
All of the alleged rapes took place at Masterson’s Hollywood Hills home, the statement said. They involve the alleged rape of a 23-year-old woman between January and December 2001, a 28-year-old woman in April 2003, and a 23-year-old woman between October and December 2003.
Masterson, who has been married to actress Bijou Phillips since 2011, was written out of the Netflix comedy series “The Ranch” in December 2017 when a police probe into the allegations against him first surfaced.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field