Danny Masterson Charged With Three Counts of Rape

By Greta Bjornson @greatbjornson
Published June 17, 2020, 6:08 p.m. ET

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After years of sexual assault allegations, The Ranch and That ’70s Show actor Danny Masterson has been charged by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office with raping three women. The separate incidents all occurred between 2001 and 2003, and Masterson is being charged with three counts of rape by force or fear, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The actor is accused of raping three young women, all in the early 2000s. Masterson is alleged to have raped one 23-year-old woman between January and December 2001, another 28-year-old woman in April 2003, and a 23-year-old woman who he had invited to his Hollywood Hills home sometime between October and December of 2003, according to authorities.

The case was filed for warrant yesterday (June 16), according to the District Attorney’s office, and Masterson was arrested this morning with his bond set at $3.3 million.

Masterson has been accused of rape for years, with the claims against him gaining more publicity in 2017, when actress Lea Remini accused the LAPD of covering up rape allegations because of Masterson’s ties to the Church of Scientology. Masterson was later fired from his role on Netflix’s The Ranch in December 2017, although Netflix did not immediately act when the allegations came to light. He was cut from the sitcom after one of his rape accusers confronted a Netflix executive at a youth soccer game. Masterson was then replaced on the series with Dax Shepard.

Remini reacted to the news of Masterson’s arrest on Twitter this afternoon, writing, “Finally, victims are being heard when it comes to Scientology!”

After he was fired from The Ranch, Masterson denied any allegations of rape. “I am obviously very disappointed in Netflix’s decision to write my character off of The Ranch,” he said in a statement. “From day one, I have denied the outrageous allegations against me. I have never been charged with a crime, let alone convicted of one.”

Los Angeles Police began to investigate the claims of assault back in 2017. If Masterson is convicted, he faces 45 years to life in prison.