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'That '70s Show' star Danny Masterson must stand trial on 3 rape charges
Updated On: 22 May, 2021 10:30 AM IST | Los Angeles | AP
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge made the determination in the fourth day of a preliminary hearing where the prosecution laid out its evidence. That included dramatic and emotional testimony from three women who took the stand to say that Masterson raped them in 2001 and 2003.
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Danny Masterson. Pic/AFP
A judge on Friday said `That `70s Show` actor Danny Masterson must stand trial on three counts of rape. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo made the determination in the fourth day of a preliminary hearing where the prosecution laid out its evidence. That included dramatic and emotional testimony from three women who took the stand to say that Masterson raped them in 2001 and 2003. Olmedo said she found the women`s testimony credible for the purposes of a preliminary hearing, where the bar for sufficient evidence is much lower than at trial. Masterson has denied the charges.
His attorney, Thomas Mesereau, said Masterson had consensual sex with the women and that he would prove his client`s innocence. Mesereau declined to comment on the judge`s decision outside court. During the hearing, Mesereau repeatedly challenged the women on discrepancies in their stories in the years since they said they were raped and suggested that the prosecution was tainted by anti-religious bias against the Church of Scientology. Masterson is a prominent Scientologist, all three women are former Scientologists and the church and its teachings came up constantly during testimony.
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