A timeline of the sexual assault allegations against Danny Masterson

This week marks the beginning of the trial of Danny Masterson, the That ’70s Show alum charged with three counts of rape. Accusations of assault have followed the actor for years now, impacting his career—he was fired from the Netflix series The Ranch—and implicating the Church of Scientology, of which he has been a longtime member.

These accusations first became public in 2017, after Tony Ortega, a journalist who has specialized in reporting on Scientology, shared a detailed account of the allegations against Masterson. Ortega wrote that, like Masterson, the accusers were Scientologists and felt “pressured by the Church of Scientology not to contact police or go public with their accusations.” (One of the victims did in fact file a police report in 2004 but was contradicted by other witnesses, reportedly fellow Scientologists, and the case was closed.) The women were inspired by Leah Remini’s docuseries Scientology And The Aftermath to come forward, leading the Los Angeles Police Department to open (or re-open) an investigation against the actor. In March of that year, the LAPD confirmed that “three women have come forward and disclosed that they were sexually assaulted by Masterson during the early 2000s.”

In the months following, the investigation reportedly garnered “overwhelming” evidence, including “audiotapes, emails sent to and from Scientology officers at the time the alleged rapes happened, forensic computer evidence, and a threatening handwritten letter Masterson sent to one of the alleged victims,” as well as two more additional accusers coming forward. However, the investigation “inexplicably stalled” in late 2017. According to Ortega’s report, one of the survivors claimed that the LAPD had been “compromised” by the Church of Scientology. Remini told the reporter that her experience with the department “has not been good,” recalling her meeting with the lead detective on the case: “I pointed out to her that there was a framed picture of a Scientologist on their wall, actor Michael Peña. Do you know what that says to a young Scientologist who comes here to seek justice?” A later report from The Daily Beast highlighted the LAPD’s fundraising relationship partnership with the Church through the Police Activities League, an organization with which Masterson was reportedly involved.

Netflix was also questioned as to why they had not, at that point, cut ties with Masterson on The Ranch (which co-starred fellow ’70s Show alum Ashton Kutcher). The streamer’s former director of kids and family content was fired after he inadvertently told one of Masterson’s accusers that the company wasn’t taking the accusations seriously because “we don’t believe them.” By the end of 2017, it was confirmed that Masterson would be written out of the show; in early 2018, he was dropped by his agent.

Masterson denied the allegations then and continues to do so, often specifically blaming Remini for colluding with the accusers and claiming that she was stirring up the controversy to “boost” her own television show. Remini did film an episode of Scientology And The Aftermath about the Masterson accusations, but the episode was delayed several times for various reasons (including, some speculated, that A&E was covering for the Church of Scientology). Interviews with some of the accusers eventually aired as part of the 2019 series finale.

Masterson was officially charged with three counts of rape in 2020 (of the two additional accusations, one reportedly had insufficient evidence and the other was past the statute of limitations). He was arrested, and quickly released on bail, in June. The charges stemmed from incidents occurring between 2001 and 2003. Masterson attempted to have the charges thrown out for being past the statute of limitations, but was rejected by a judge, setting the legal proceedings in motion. Then, in May of 2021, a pre-trial determined there was sufficient evidence to move forward with the case.

Masterson’s criminal trial begins on October 11. Separately, four of Masterson’s accusers filed a civil lawsuit against Masterson and the Church of Scientology for the alleged cover-up, reportedly perpetrated via stalking and harassment. Last week, the Supreme Court declined to intervene on the behalf of Scientology after the Church argued that the Court of Appeal in California sought to “weaponize the First Amendment against religious freedom” by allowing the case to move forward (per Deadline). So although the judge in the criminal case asserted that “This is not going to become a trial on Scientology,” it seems that the Church’s practices will inevitably come under scrutiny in both cases. If charged in the criminal trial, Masterson faces a possible sentence of 45 years to life.

If you or someone you know is suffering from sexual abuse, contact the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.