Jess Hardiman
Danny Masterson’s ex-stepdad has claimed the actor’s siblings are lying about their upbringing to help him as he was sentenced to 30 years in prison for rape.
Masterson, known for starring in That ‘70s Show, was sentenced to 30 years to life for the rape of two women, having been in custody since May of this year.
Both attacks were said to have taken place in Masterson’s home in 2003.
After the initial jury were unable to reach verdicts on three counts of rape in December 2022, a mistrial was declared.
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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 May 31.
A verdict could not be reached on the third count - an allegation that Masterson had also raped a longtime girlfriend.
"You are pathetic, disturbed and completely violent,” one woman who Masterson was convicted of raping said, adding: “The world is better off with you in prison.”
His half-brother and sister, Alanna and Jordan Masterson, had written letters to Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo asking for leniency for their sibling and arguing that he had helped raise as a ‘pseudo father figure’.
Sister Alanna wrote: “Danny is my best friend and helped raise me when my father left us. My mom was alone providing for all of us and Danny stepped in to shoulder that burden.
“He helped all of us financially, but also with the daily happenings of his younger siblings. He sat front row at every ballet recital (of which there were plenty) and made sure he was never late, with flowers in hand. He took me to school, to sleepovers.”
Jordan added: “When my father left, my brother stepped into a sort of pseudo father figure role for my little sister and me, even though he was only sixteen himself at the time. Providing not only money when times were lean (which there were plenty), but wisdom and guidance.
“He set an example for us about what it was to be loving, professional and respectful. Speaking as a young man without a father, having my big brother as a lodestar was a godsend.”
However, their father Joe Reaiche – Masteron's former stepdad – has since accused the pair of lying, saying that he remained close to his children and step-children for years.
“They make it sound like I walked out and abandoned them, and that Danny was the hero,” he told the Daily Beast.
“They were actually making money, and I was giving them money.”
Reaiche, an ex-scientologist who met Carol Masterson in 1982, disputed his kids’ claims that he walked out when they were six and four, saying his wife didn’t file for divorce until 1995 and that Jordan was actually nine when they split.
"If they had said our parents divorced when we were 9 and 7, that would be one thing,” he continued.
“But they say I left like I abandoned them. It’s bulls**t.
“They perjure themselves.”
He added: “Jordan seems to forget that in 2004, he was getting auditing at the Celebrity Centre and it was going badly. Carol asked me to do an ethics cycle on my son. So I did my thing, I straightened him out, and he did fantastic.
"So I was in his life in 2004, when he was 18. Danny even complimented me on it.
"I went to Christmas dinner with them at the house in Glendale that year, in 2004. Chris’ girlfriend, Laura Prepon, was there. I had dinner with them."
UNILAD has reached out to a representative for Jordan and Alanna Masterson for comment.