We have another exclusive for you here at the Underground Bunker in the criminal prosecution of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson, who is accused of violently raping three women and faces 45 years to life in prison if he’s convicted at a trial scheduled to begin on August 29.
It’s a document that’s never been published until now. And we think you’ll see how it not only describes one woman’s early attempts to get justice in this case, but it also directly relates to the Church of Scientology’s recent attempts to intervene in it.
Masterson is accused of raping three women between 2001 and 2003 who were all Scientologists at the time. One of them is going by the name Jane Doe 1, and she alleges that Masterson raped her at his Hollywood Hills home after a party in the early morning hours of April 25, 2003.
She testified live in court last May at a preliminary hearing that lasted four days in Los Angeles. We were there, and watched as she described being given a single drink by Masterson that made her suspiciously semi-conscious, how he made her take off her clothes and tossed her into his jacuzzi, and how he took her upstairs to his bathroom and shoved his fingers down her throat to make her throw up.
She testified that she was in an out of consciousness, and at one point when she came to she was surprised to find herself in Masterson’s shower as he was soaping up her breasts. The next time she came to, she was on his bed and he had his penis in her vagina. She tried to fight him off, but she said that Masterson smothered her face with a pillow and she lost consciousness again. Later, when Masterson suspected that someone was outside his bedroom, he told her, “don’t fucking move,” while brandishing a pistol. She eventually crawled into his closet and curled up into a fetal position on a pile of his clothes.
She testified that there was no doubt in her mind that she’d been drugged and raped, but when she went to the Church of Scientology to report the incident, a “master-at-arms,” Julian Swartz, told her: “If you’re going to say the word ‘rape,’ don’t say it. We don’t say that word here.”
She then went through months of “auditing” at Scientology’s Hollywood Celebrity Centre that was designed to do a couple of things. First, find what evil acts she had engaged in during her previous lifetimes which would result in her being a victim in this lifetime, and second, to make it clear to her that she had brought her current problems on herself.
In fact, she testified, by the end of that process she was given a “non-enturbulation order,” one step short of being declared a “suppressive person,” which is a kind of death penalty in Scientology. She knew that if she did anything else to upset anyone in Scientology, she would be “declared” an SP, and then all other Scientologists, even her own family, would have to cut off all contact with her.
Scientology, in other words, had punished her for being a rape victim. But Jane Doe 1 was not going to go away so quietly. Almost a year after the incident, in April 2004, she wrote to Scientology’s “International Justice Chief,” a Scientology Sea Org executive named Mike Ellis, to ask him permission to turn Danny Masterson in to the police and to file a civil lawsuit against him. She knew that by Scientology policy, doing either of those things would result in her being declared, if Masterson was in fact still a member in good standing.
This, for the first time in public, is the letter that she wrote. It was referred to by Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller during the preliminary hearing and entered as evidence, and we got it out of the court file.
We think this letter is important because it begins to show how there will be documentary evidence presented at Masterson’s August trial, not just witness testimony. And it also, along with Ellis’s reply, is a big problem for Scientology’s current campaign in the case, attempting to convince the court that it doesn’t prevent members from reporting crimes.
Here’s how Jane Doe 1’s letter begins.
The IJC, again, is the International Justice Chief, a man named Mike Ellis. Scientologists know that if they have been declared suppressive, Ellis is their “only terminal” — the only person in Scientology they can reach out to in the church’s arcane “ethics” structure.
Jane Doe refers to herself as “AO public,” which means that she’s a non-employee (“public”) who is on course at the AO, the Advanced Org of Los Angeles, also known as AOLA. It’s a large blue building that is part of the blue headquarters complex in LA. At the Advanced Org, some of Scientology’s most secret upper level teachings, the “Operating Thetan” or “OT” auditing levels, are delivered, and at sky-high prices.
She also indicates that Masterson is “CCI public,” a reference to him being a celebrity at the Hollywood Celebrity Centre, also known as Celebrity Centre International.
Jane Doe 1’s Scientology lingo is getting pretty thick here, so we turned for some help to one of our Hubbard technology experts, Sunny Pereira, who worked for years as a Sea Org executive at the Hollywood Celebrity Centre.
“What this says to me is that Jane Doe wrote a ‘Knowledge Report’ the year before about the incident. They then did a ‘third-party investigation,’ which is what ‘3p invest’ stands for. When two people have a conflict, Scientology theory is that there’s a third party who is whispering to each of them, causing the problem. So a 3d party invest would entail questioning Jane Doe and Danny to figure out who was that third party,” Sunny says.
As a result of the investigation, it was Jane Doe who was punished, with the non-enturbulation order. “It’s one step before a declare order. If you step out of line, you will be declared suppressive. A non-enturbulation order is going to tell her, you can’t upset anyone for any reason. You have to be quiet,” Sunny says. “What they’re trying to do is to keep her from talking about Danny to anyone except the ethics officer. They’re trying to contain the information by putting that out.”
Jane Doe indicates, however, that she had convinced someone that this was unjust, and the order had been removed.
“She’s been getting interrogations, which is what ‘security checks’ are. You report a crime, but they’re going to find your own transgressions. She’s accusing him of rape, so they’re interrogating her about crimes she’s committed against others. Even from past lives,” Sunny says. “She’s under order not to say anything, but details have leaked out from her interrogators, and she says it’s destroying her reputation. She’s saying that people are pointing to the non-enturb order as proof that she was lying.”
Sunny says she doesn’t know who the External Security Chief—West United States (“Ext Sec Chief WUS”) was in 2004, but Jane Doe’s description here is very interesting, that a Sea Org official had told her not that Danny denies the incident, but that he refuses to “see” it as a rape. She also refers to the drink that Masterson made for her that made her extremely intoxicated, which she had covered in her previous “KRs” — Knowledge Reports.
Sunny wasn’t sure who the Senior Inspections and Reports—Pacific Area Command (“Senior I&R PAC”) was, but she suspects that the Shane at CCI, the Hollywood Celebrity Centre, is a reference to well known auditor Shane Woodruff.
We’ve encountered Woodruff before. He was a key player in Leah Remini’s story, which we noted here at the Bunker in a 2016 story. In her book Troublemaker, Leah described Shane Woodruff as her celebrity “handler” and his brother Todd Woodruff as her auditor.
As we wrote in that 2016 story, the Woodruff brothers also intersect with the Tom Cruise-Katie Holmes story in fascinating ways. Could Shane Woodruff be called in to testify about how he handled Jane Doe 1 reporting her alleged rape by Danny Masterson? That could be very interesting.
“It’s really clear here what’s she’s saying,” Sunny says. “She’s saying, what can I say to my kid about reporting a crime when I’m punished for it and Danny isn’t?”
Jane Doe says that proof that Masterson is in good standing is that he’s currently taking the “Potential Trouble Source—Suppressive Person” course (“PTS-SP”), which teaches a Scientologist how to “shatter” suppression. In other words, how to resist and deflect negative views aimed at Scientology or Scientologists.
And here’s the key moment, the Ask. Jane Doe 1, knowing that she can be declared for going outside Scientology to report the rape, asks Ellis for permission to do so.
“It’s all about the bad PR that it could create. So yes, you just don’t do it,” Sunny says. It’s something every Scientologist knows: You can’t report another Scientologist to the police or sue another Scientologist. To do so is considered a Suppressive Act according to policy, and could result in her being declared SP.
Again, here Jane Doe 1 refers to Danny not seeing the incident as rape, or “stalling a cognition” — resisting an epiphany about what really happened.
Jane Doe 1 sent this letter on April 13, 2004. She received a reply from Ellis dated April 21.
We’ve actually published it before. Here it is again.
And here’s what Mike Rinder told us about this carefully crafted response when we first published it in 2020:
“Though it is likely not obvious to a non-Scientologist, the message of this letter is crystal clear: ‘There are consequences for taking the actions you are considering. I am not going to state them because lawyers have told me not to. But you can look up the High Crimes and Suppressive Acts and figure it out for yourself.’ This is a carefully worded letter that was written by OSA legal or a lawyer for Mike Ellis to be threatening to any knowledgeable Scientologist and innocuous to a judge.
“What is most incredible is that the ‘International Justice Chief’ expresses not a word of outrage or even concern about the crime that is reported. Because that is not what he is concerned about. He is worried that this may turn into a ‘flap’ on ‘external lines’.”
And also, and perhaps most importantly, what Ellis doesn’t do is correct Jane Doe about her assertion that reporting Danny will get her declared.
What we hope you take away from the publication of Jane Doe 1’s letter and the IJC’s response is that when the trial takes place later this year, there will not only be documentary evidence as well as witnesses to hear from, but that it shows how intertwined Scientology itself was in these incidents and how they were handled.
You may begin to understand why Scientology is taking the extremely unusual step of attempting to intervene in this criminal prosecution, and that it has begun a campaign to denounce Judge Charlaine Olmedo and pretend that the church does not have a policy against reporting crimes committed by Scientologists.
This letter and its response provide a very problematic counterexample to Scientology’s claim, which is probably why they haven’t brought it up in their campaign.
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“Always had a lot of fun riding motorcycles, it’s something I shouldn’t do, not in America. Motorcycles are ridden by delivery boys. They’re ridden by admirals and members of parliament over in England so I always have to ride motorcycles with an English accent anyway, to keep up my social caste, you know, it’s very important.” — L. Ron Hubbard, March 6, 1957
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“It should be made known that there has never been ANY order from the Commodore to have Dining Room windows left open so people freeze as they eat. There is an order to Chief Steward to handle cooking smells.” — OOD, March 6, 1971
“I have a vision of an OT (very far advanced of course, nothing like seen here so far) being so cause over banks that this is actually how a planet or universe gets cleared — not one by one that’s a joke — but by being so damn Cause, so damn Big, so damn encompassing and pervasive, that all the negative frequencies and images are transmuted to theta/Light.”
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2001: Peter Alexander posted to a.r.s concerning the construction of the Super Power building in Clearwater. “When I was still a public member of Scientology, I contributed $100,000 to the SuperPower Building, and was privy to inside information about the project. According to Bruce and Chairman Roger, the registrars, and the SuperPower project leader, the purpose of SuperPower and the new SuperPower building was to ‘undercut’ the gradient for all of Scientology. They explained that no matter what level people attained in Scientology, they still had ‘out ethics’ which were preventing them from realizing their gains. This, they said, applied to OT8’s and OT7’s, and well as people lower on the bridge. This was a tactic admission that Scientology’s OT levels were not working, and additional hypnosis/brainwashing was required before anyone could become OT. They invited me to several luncheons with Matt Feshbach. Matt was, at the time, the only public person who had been allowed to complete SuperPower. He described one particular rundown, in which he ran and ran around a ‘maypole’ in a circle. He told me that all the members of the upper management of RTC had also done this, and the other SuperPower rundowns. These SuperPower rundowns amount to about the same level of brainwashing as the Chinese Communists used during the Great Cultural Revolution, where they could ‘re-educate’ even the toughest souls into complete submission.”
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“Hubbard was definitely trolling people on some level. You can see it in that cartoon lupine grin he was always sporting.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Next pretrial conference May 31. Trial scheduled for August 29.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Last hearing was on January 18, referred to grand jury.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff’s sentencing to be scheduled.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Pretrial conference March 25 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for April 8.
— Joseph ‘Ben’ Barton, Medicare fraud: Pleaded guilty, awaiting sentencing.
— Yanti Mike Greene, Scientology private eye accused of contempt of court: Hearing held on February 15, awaiting ruling.
Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Eleventh Circuit affirmed ruling granting Scientology’s motion for arbitration. Garcias considering next move.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Valerie asks for March 15 hearing on motion for reconsideration.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Scientology has said it will file an anti-SLAPP motion.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for June 28.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs. Appeal hearing held Aug 23-27. Awaiting a ruling.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Lawsuit filed by the FTC and state of Georgia in August, now in discovery phase.
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THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON
We first broke the news of the LAPD’s investigation of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson on rape allegations in 2017, and we’ve been covering the story every step of the way since then. At this page we’ve collected our most important links, including our four days in Los Angeles covering the preliminary hearing and its ruling, which has Danny facing trial and the potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison.
After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.
LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH
An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.
SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z
Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!
Other links: SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks. Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society. Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in a weekly series. How many have you read?
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THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] When Rinder met Hubbard: A Scientology story for the ages
[TWO years ago] Riffer madness: Scientology in a tizzy days before next week’s hearing in Masterson suit
[THREE years ago] When Scientology’s ‘disconnection’ is forever, and other developments
[FOUR years ago] What Scientology TV should be about — but won’t dare to put on the air
[FIVE years ago] Scientology caught in a lie to federal court — but will the judge care?
[SIX years ago] Scientology snags a TV news host, and other social media finds around the world
[SEVEN years ago] Scientology posts the (nearly) full deposition of reclusive ‘Justice Chief’ Mike Ellis
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology gets the ‘America’s Book of Secrets’ treatment soon!
[NINE years ago] Scientology Response to Federal Lawsuit: Force The Garcias to Use Church Arbitration
[TEN years ago] Scientology, Deposed? Debbie Cook Goes on the Offensive
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Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 2,595 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,100 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,620 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,640 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,531 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,838 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,706 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,480 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 1,811 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,284 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,600 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,166 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,085 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,253 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,834 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,095 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,131 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,846 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,371 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 726 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,901 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,452 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,601 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,921 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,776 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,895 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,251 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,554 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,660 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,058 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,934 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,517 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,012 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,266 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,375 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on March 6, 2022 at 07:00
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Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. Our book about Paulette, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.
The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2021 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2021), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | 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 | Shelly Miscavige, 15 years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ
Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…
Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.
Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele
Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast
