Danny Masterson, the former “That 70s Show” star serving a 30-year prison sentence for raping two women, filed an appeal that argues his defense attorney failed to call witnesses who could have discredited his accusers and pushed back on prosecution claims that Scientology strived to silence them, according to legal documents obtained by TheWrap.
The petition for habeas corpus filed Sunday also says Masterson’s lawyer, Philip Cohen, failed to “present any of an unparalleled trove of evidence” that would have undermined his accusers’ credibility. The filing says Masterson implored Cohen to call rebuttal witnesses, but he refused, relying instead on cross-examination of prosecution testimony.
Masterson was convicted of two rape charges in 2023 and is currently housed at the California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo. Cohen did not immediately respond Monday to a request for comment.
Masterson was accused by three women of raping them at his Hollywood Hills home around 2003. A 2022 trial resulted in a hung jury on all three counts, but a 2023 retrial resulted in convictions on two, while the panel deadlocked on a third count.
Because of the age of the accusations, a statute of limitations exception required a guilty verdict on at least two of the charges to trigger a conviction.
Scientology was less of a factor in the first trial because the judge limited prosecutors’ ability to argue that it played a role. They were given more leeway in the retrial to argue that the women were forbidden by the church to press charges against a high-profile member.
The state called ex-Scientologist Claire Headley as a witness to testify at retrial that church protocols require permission to involve police at the threat of excommunication. Masterson and Scientology lawyers strongly urged Cohen to call a rebuttal witness who was on the defense’s list, but he declined, according to the petition.
The filing also says there were multiple witnesses available to testify that the two accusers whose charges resulted in conviction had described the sexual encounters as positive and consensual, but none were called. It also asserts that Cohen failed to introduce a 2019 civil lawsuit that shows the accusers had a financial incentive to gain a criminal conviction.
The petition further argues that the LAPD’s investigation was biased due to close coordination with anti-Scientologist Leah Remini, who had a financial stake in promoting the allegations, and claims the retrial judge’s rulings consistently favored the prosecution.
“The unfairness of the second Masterson trial was the result of prosecutorial misconduct, judicial bias, and the failure of defense counsel to present exculpatory evidence,” Eric Multhaup, Masterson’s appellate attorney told TheWrap. “The habeas corpus petition is accompanied by 65 exhibits that document the evidence of innocence that could have been presented, but was not. The jury heard only half the story – the prosecution’s side. Danny deserves a new trial where the jury can hear his side as well.”
The petition does not list any scheduled or upcoming hearing date, but asks the Court of Appeal to issue an order to remand the case to the Los Angeles Superior Court for an evidentiary hearing before a different judge.
