Los Angeles Magazine: Danny Masterson’s Rape Accusers Say They Were Silenced by Scientology

Los Angeles Magazine: Danny Masterson’s Rape Accusers Say They Were Silenced by Scientology

Multiple scientology secrets were aired in open court this week

By Ian Spiegelman -May 27, 2021


https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/scientology-secrets-rape/





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During four days of preliminary hearings last week in the rape trial of That ’70s Show actor and Scientologist Danny Masterson, three women detailed how top officials from the celebrity-driven church allegedly tried to silence their accusations, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The women—identified only by their first names and last initials—also aired their grievances with the church in 2019 a civil suit against Masterson, who last June was charged with three counts of felony rape by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office. Although representatives of the church tried to keep their religious practices out of the criminal trial, Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo ruled against them.

In allowing the case to go forward, Olmedo found that the victims did not report the alleged attacks to the police for more than a decade because Scientology has “an expressly written doctrine” that “not only discourages, but prohibits” its members from reporting other followers to law enforcement.

As each woman took the stand, they alleged that church authorities had used strong-arm tactics in attempting to silence them.

One woman, who claims that Masterson raped her in 2001 while she was unconscious, testified that a Scientology official demanded she write a statement in which she would “take responsibility” for the assault.

Another woman, who was born into the church, said that when she planned to report Masterson in 2004 for allegedly raping her in 2003, a Scientology lawyer appeared at her family’s home to warn them that she would be excommunicated if she did so.

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