Danny Masterson’s new moves in rape case: Asks to dismiss one victim, separate the other two

While he’s waiting to see if California’s state supreme court will grant him an appeal on a previous motion to dismiss, Danny Masterson isn’t waiting around.

His legal team filed two new motions this week intending to undercut the criminal case against him, and now he’s getting creative.

Masterson is currently awaiting a criminal trial scheduled to begin on August 29 that has him facing three counts of forcible rape. Each count carries a potential sentence of 15 years to life if he’s convicted, and 45 years to life if he’s convicted of all three. But at least two convictions are needed to satisfy the “One Strike” law that he’s been charged under. If only one case results in a conviction, or none, Masterson will not face prison time.

So his new moves appear to be intended to increase his odds.

The court confirmed with us that Masterson filed a motion to dismiss Jane Doe 1’s case against him for “prosecutorial delay,” and he’s filed another motion to sever Jane Doe 2’s case from Jane Doe 3.

If both motions are successful, Danny would then face two separate trials of one count each, rather than a single trial for all three counts.

Although the court confirmed that the two motions had been filed, we don’t have access to the language in them yet. However, this isn’t the first time that Masterson’s team has argued for a dismissal based on the length of time it has taken these cases to come to court.

The charges against the That ’70s Show actor were first filed in June 2020 by the LA District Attorney’s Office, and before Masterson had even been brought in for arraignment and to make a plea, his legal team filed something called a “demurrer.” The demurrer argued that too much time had elapsed since the incidents in the case, and it was simply too late for the DA to bring such charges against Danny.

In Jane Doe 1’s case in particular, she alleged that in the early morning hours of April 25, 2003, she had been violently raped by Masterson at his house after a late-night gathering. Jane Doe 1 initially reported the incident to the Church of Scientology (she was a Scientologist herself at the time), and then defied the church’s objections and went to the LAPD in June 2004.

The DA then had an opportunity to file charges against Masterson and didn’t do so, his attorneys argued, and so it was far too late to do so now. But in October 2020 Deputy DA Reinhold Mueller successfully argued that because Masterson was also accused of forcibly raping two other women (who had also been Scientologists at the time) in 2001 and 2003, the multiple cases fell under California’s “One Strike” law, which meant that because they carried a possible life sentence, there was no statute of limitations and the DA could bring the charges at any time.

Then in April last year, Masterson attempted to get Jane Doe 1’s count dismissed by arguing that the prosecution had been acting in bad faith: At that point, the LAPD’s file of Jane Doe 1’s 2004 investigative file was missing, and so it couldn’t be turned over to the defense. Danny’s lawyers said this was especially egregious because the DA’s office in 2004 had decided not to press charges — whatever was in that 2004 file must have been exculpatory, they argued.

But Deputy DA Mueller had a surprise for them: The LAPD might have lost its copy of the 2004 Jane Doe 1 file, but the DA’s office still had its copy, which it then turned over to the defense, and Masterson’s motion was dismissed.

And now, Masterson is once again trying to dismiss the Jane Doe 1 count for delay. We are anxious to find out the new reason the Masterson team has for taking another shot at this.

As for severing the Jane Doe 2 and Jane Doe 3 cases, and making them separate trials, this would greatly increase the time and cost for the court.

The chances for either motion being granted may appear rather long, but once again they may be material that Masterson is amassing for future appeals. And there’s no doubt that Danny Masterson is paying a pretty penny for the considerable work that went into them.

 
See our previous reporting on the Danny Masterson prosecution.

 
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Bonus items from our tipsters

Tiptoe through the tulips and get yer wallets out, pilgrims!

Hello Comrades of Battle Creek!

We would like to invite you to come early for the Barnstorming in Full Bloom Ideal Org event so you can enjoy Tulip Festival here in Holland, Michigan.

There are a lot of beautiful things to do and it’s a perfect experience to also celebrate Mothers day. We suggest you check out the following websites to get acquainted with Holland, MI.

www.tuliptime.com
www.cityofholland.com
www.holland.org

The Haworth Hotel is on 9th street and I suggest grabbing some brochures and a map from their front desk upon arrival. Here are some fun highlights to enjoy:

Pillar Church was the first church built in 1856 is across the street from Haworth Inn on College and 9th St.
Centennial Park – stroll through lots of tulips.
12th Street heading West is in the Historic District and tulips line both sides of the street.
The end of 12th St. brings you to Lake Macatawa and Kollen Park with walkways along the lake and paths through the park.
Downtown is on 8th St. and College. 100 year old candy store,”The Peanut Store” is fun to check out and LOTS of cool stores all the way up to River Ave.

Advertisement

River on the Waterfront is a large park with tulip plantings, walkway on the riverfront etc. on 6th and College.
Windmill Island, the front desk can tell you more!

We hope you enjoy your day “tiptoeing through the tulips” and then joining us for the Ideal Org event! This is a unique festival that is world-renown and happens only once a year, a truly theta experience.

Your hosts,
Vince, Michelle & Marsha

 
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Did you know you can get an email every morning when we post our daily Scientology story? We know some of the folks who come to the Underground Bunker aren’t here to talk about the politics of the day, and that’s why we created a daily politics feature over at our other blog, The Lowdown, and we ask readers to take their political discussions over there. And if you drop us a line at tonyo94 AT gmail, we’ll put you on the list so you get a morning reminder that a new Scientology story has been posted — and only for our Scientology stories.

 
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Source Code

“In order to understand the third dynamic completely, you would have to understand that a thetan is confused about who is who. His basic confusion, who is who, is manifest under this: He can duplicate himself. He can put himself out there in space and be as alive out there and where he is too, at the same time, as where he is. He can duplicate himself; in other words. One thetan that can be, then, two thetans. And each one of these thetans have all the characteristics of the original thetan. And then these two thetans can duplicate themselves and have all the original characteristics of themselves but be somebody else too. So we get into valence trouble. This is one of the basic capabilities. The second we introduce duplication, however, we introduce space. So the second a thetan began to be somebody else and himself; too, there was space in the matter.” — L. Ron Hubbard, May 6, 1954

Avast, Ye Mateys

“The gradual improvement of world stats is done by constant attention to DATA and gradually putting things right. Any breakdown occurs when it does because of failed or unrun missions, failure to observe and report, failure to carry out overall Flag intention. The important point is that we are gradually winning on all fronts in a world that ought to have a fence around it and seems to be dedicated to self-destruction. When you can advance into that you really have to be somebody! Any you have to know what you’re doing.” — The Commodore, May 6, 1970

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“I want to talk about Mars and the implant operation going on there. I’ve audited this implant so it no longer affects me personally, but this to me seems to be of great importance in addressing (i.e. neutralizing) for others, especially in helping those beings newly arriving from elsewhere in the galaxy who get ensnared in that theta trap. Once a being has reached this solar system, it’s common to use other planets as navigation points and anchor points on the way to Earth.”

 
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Past is Prologue

1998: Pickets were held at many Scientology locations this week. From Jens Tingleff in East Grinstead, England: “We treated a growing contingent of clams to picket signs, Duke, Xemu-costume and the sound system playing Ron sound bytes and giving Dave an opportunity to ad-lib a bit and try some songs. We turned the sound system up a bit more than we do in towns and got a nice echo off the hill in the background. After some time, we were told to move off the driveway, with the lead clam resorting to shoving us ever so slightly. The police arrived in two cars at this time, and had us move to a driveway on the opposite side of the road. We marched over to the pavement in front of the Co$ shop (labeled ‘Saint Hill Manor Bookstore’) and set up camp. Very soon, a man appeared and started behaving in a most obnoxious way. He sprayed beer all over us, pushed people into the traffic and generally behaved as if he was looking for a fight. Something like half an hour after his first appearance, the disagreeable individual made his second appearance. He shoved us around some more, and then made off with Duke. John R. and I went after him, and the clams thought that it was hilarious. The individual made it to a foot-bridge followed by John and myself at a distance. He then turned around and came back at us. He started swinging the dog (weight 2-3 lbs, steel frame with long handle = not a nice thing to swing at someone’s head standing on a foot-bridge over a busy road). We managed to get the dog back, and I sustained a couple more (feeble) punches to my mouth and a kick to the groin which missed by a mile. We then retreated and he followed us. He lost interest in that when I loudly remarked ‘Fine, back to the police.’ A Community Officer took my details, and after I had been informed that the guy had been found and since he appeared not to be drunk and disorderly, he would walk away if no complaint was made, I went down to the police station and made a statement.”

 
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Random Howdy

“Scientologists are the Kings and Queens of semantic pedantic literalistic obfuscating weasel word games.”

 
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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. Additional charges also referred to grand jury after January 5 assault while in jail.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff’s sentencing to be scheduled.
— Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Pretrial conference May 20 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for May 5.
— Joseph ‘Ben’ Barton, Medicare fraud: Pleaded guilty, awaiting sentencing.
— Yanti Mike Greene, Scientology private eye accused of contempt of court: Found guilty of criminal and civil contempt.

Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Complaint filed April 28 in Tampa federal court.
— 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’s motion for reconsideration denied on March 15.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Next hearing scheduled for June 29.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for December 6.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: New trial ordered after appeals court overturned prior 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.

SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

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] Can’t someone ask Erika Christensen a real question about Scientology?
[TWO years ago] Scientology has thrown millions at Ireland in recent years, and here’s the amazing result
[THREE years ago] Scientology and Nation of Islam figure picks worst week to rail against measles vaccine
[FOUR years ago] In Hollywood and in Italy, Scientology is making all your dreams come true!
[FIVE years ago] Ah, the reveries of 1950: When Dianetics was in full bloom
[SIX years ago] When Anonymous had Scientology in a panic: A new document has us nostalgic for 2008
[SEVEN years ago] Bob Duggan, the richest Scientologist in the world, is going to love our nifty new drawings!
[EIGHT years ago] Leaked footage of Scientology leader David Miscavige in Sydney
[NINE years ago] Investigation of Scientology Drug Rehab Program in Georgia Shifts to Credit Card Fraud
[TEN years ago] Sunday Funnies: Birmingham Raises the Odds on Ideal Orgs!
[ELEVEN years ago] Lindsay Lohan Joining Scientology? How Could it Hurt?

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on May 6, 2022 at 07:00

E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.

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