EXCLUSIVE: DA’s office asked Leah Remini not to air episode about Danny Masterson

The Underground Bunker has learned that A&E’s Emmy-winning series, Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, filmed an episode featuring interviews with women who allege they were raped by Scientologist and That ’70s Show actor Danny Masterson, but the episode hasn’t been scheduled.

We’re told that earlier this year, Remini and her co-star Mike Rinder met with the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, which expressed concerns about the episode airing while it is considering whether or not to file charges against Masterson. Remini, not wanting to jeopardize the investigation, asked A&E not to air the episode, and the network agreed.

Now, there are only three episodes left to air in the show’s second season (full disclosure, we are featured in one of them), and the DA’s office has still not made up its mind about filing charges against Masterson — so the episode might not air at all.

Remini declined to speak with us about the episode.

In March, we broke the news that the Los Angeles Police Department was investigating the allegations of three women, all Scientologists, who claimed that they had been raped by Masterson between 2001 and 2003. Since then, a fourth victim — who was never a Scientologist — also came forward and became a part of the investigation, which was revealed in a story at the Huffington Post yesterday by writer Yashar Ali.

Yashar also revealed that the case had been “slow-rolled” by the DA’s office, which has been working with the LAPD on the investigation since April. “Despite compelling ― what one law enforcement source described as ‘overwhelming’ — evidence, the charges have not been approved for filing,” Yashar wrote.

We’ve written numerous stories about the first three Masterson accusers, whose identities we are not revealing (Victim A, Victim B, Victim C). And now we’ve learned that those three accusers sat for on-camera interviews with Leah Remini in the episode that was ready to air months ago.

And even though Remini asked to keep the episode off the air, footage from it found its way into the title sequence which airs at the beginning of each show this season. Near the end of that title sequence, Leah can be seen comforting a woman as she’s driving a car, and you hear her say, “You got this.” (See photo, above.) That woman is one of Masterson’s accusers.

Besides the DA’s inaction, there have been other troubling developments in the Masterson investigation. In our first story about the case in March, we quoted from a letter that Victim A had sent to LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, complaining that the case wasn’t being taken seriously by its initial investigator, Detective Esther Reyes, who had admitted that the LAPD was compromised by its relationship with the Church of Scientology.

“She told me that she has taken our police reports out of the LAPD computers so that no one could see them. She said she had them in a vault that only she and her captain could access. She told me this was done to safeguard the case as she agreed that their [sic] are leaks in the LAPD and that some LAPD officers are very friendly with the church of Scientology,” Victim A wrote.

After Victim A’s complaints, the LAPD did replace Reyes with another detective who made progress talking to witnesses and advancing the investigation. Assistant District Attorney Reinhold Mueller was assigned to the case in April, but as Yashar revealed in yesterday’s story, Mueller found several problems with the case.

For example, Victim B originally reported her 2003 assault to the LAPD in 2004, but the Church of Scientology responded with 50 affidavits from people disagreeing with Victim B’s account, Yashar reported.

And according to a close family friend we interviewed, Victim B was told in 2004 that unless more victims could be found, the case would be closed. At that time, the LAPD and Victim B were unaware that the other women, Victims A, C, and D, had all been attacked but didn’t know about each other.

And then there was another troubling detail: When Meuller asked for Victim B’s original 2004 file to check its documents, the LAPD discovered that the file was empty — all of its contents have disappeared.

Despite that, as Yashar reported, sources in the DA’s office felt that an “overwhelming” case for charges had been made. But no decision has been made by DA Jackie Lacey, and Remini’s episode has still not been aired.

When we broke the news about the investigation in March, Danny Masterson’s representatives claimed that his accusers had been put up to their allegations by Leah Remini: “We are aware of [Victim A’s] 16-year-old allegations. It was only after [Victim A] was in contact with Leah Remini that she made allegations of sexual assault by Mr. Masterson. Based on reading the anti-Scientology blog that posted this story, these false allegations appear to be motivated to boost Leah Remini’s anti-Scientology television series since [Victim A] only came forward after connecting with Leah Remini.”

That isn’t true. Just about a year ago, Victim A actually made her first report to her local police department, which then referred her case to the LAPD. (She no longer lives in California.) Only after she made that report did she reach out to Remini, whose first season was about to begin.

Remini not only didn’t put the victims up to reporting their allegations, when the DA told her that her episode might compromise their investigation, she convinced A&E not to air it.

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on November 3, 2017 at 07:00

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The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2016 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Undergound Bunker (2012-2016), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…

BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of L.A. attorney and former church member Vance Woodward
UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists
GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice
SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts

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Our Guide to Alex Gibney’s film ‘Going Clear,’ and our pages about its principal figures…
Jason Beghe | Tom DeVocht | Sara Goldberg | Paul Haggis | Mark “Marty” Rathbun | Mike Rinder | Spanky Taylor | Hana Whitfield