STORY: Actor Danny Masterson, best known for his role on ‘That 70s Show’, was convicted of raping two women between 2001 and 2003 by a Los Angeles jury on Wednesday.
Three women, all former members of the Church of Scientology, accuse the actor of sexual assault at his Hollywood home.
Allegations that came to light in 2017 during the height of the #MeToo movement.
A jury was deadlocked on another charge that Masterson had raped a third woman during the same period.
The 47-year-old actor had pleaded not guilty to the rape charges.
Defense attorney Philip Cohen had urged jurors to acquit his client.
According to City News Service, a regional news wire covering southern California, Cohen questioned the credibility of the women, and said that their stories had been tweaked over the years.
The rape allegations drew attention partly because Masterson had met the women through the Church of Scientology, which according to the accusers, discouraged them from reporting the rape to police.
The Church of Scientology has rejected that claim.
In a statement cited by City News Service, the church said it has quote ‘no policy prohibiting or discouraging members from reporting criminal conduct of anyone, Scientologists or not, to law enforcement.’
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