Anish Vij
Convicted rapist Danny Masterson blew his wife Bijou Phillips a kiss in the courtroom after he was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison.
The 47-year-old actor - best known for his role as Steven Hyde in That '70s Show between 1998 and 2006 - was convicted of raping two women, both former members of the Church of Scientology.
When the jury were unable to reach verdicts on three counts of rape in December 2022, a mistrial was declared.
However, prosecutors retried Masterson on all three counts earlier this year as a jury of seven women and five men found Masterson guilty of two counts on 31 May.
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Both attacks were said to have taken place in Masterson’s home in 2003, during the time he was still on That '70s Show.
A verdict could not be reached on the third count - an allegation that Masterson also raped a longtime girlfriend.
It has now been revealed via a court sketch that the actor was seen blowing a kiss to his wife Phillips before being taken away.
According to Variety, she was present in court alongside Masterson's family.
“When you raped me, you stole from me,” said one woman who Masterson was convicted of raping. "That’s what rape is, a theft of the spirit."
"You are pathetic, disturbed and completely violent,” she said. “The world is better off with you in prison.”
The other woman told the judge: “I knew he belonged behind bars for the safety of all the women he came into contact with. I am so sorry, and I’m so upset. I wish I’d reported him sooner to the police.”
“It’s his life that will be impacted by what you decide today,” Masterson’s lawyer Shawn Holley told the judge before the sentencing.
“And the life of his nine-year-old daughter, who means the world to him, and to whom he means the world.
“He has lived an exemplary life, he has been an extraordinary father, husband, brother, son, co-worker and community servant.”
Judge Olmedo said: “Mr Masterson, you are not the victim here. Your actions 20 years ago took away another person’s choice and voice. Your actions 20 years ago today were criminal, and that’s why you are here.”
Masterson, along with the two women he was convicted of raping, were part of the Church of Scientology at the time.
The church said in a statement after the verdict that the 'testimony and descriptions of Scientology beliefs' during the trial were 'uniformly false'.
“The Church has no policy prohibiting or discouraging members from reporting criminal conduct of anyone - Scientologists or not - to law enforcement,” the statement said.
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