'That '70s Show' star Danny Masterson starts 30-years-to-life sentence in state prison
DELANO, Calif. — "That '70s Show" actor Danny Masterson has been sent to a California state prison to serve his sentence for two rape convictions.
Authorities said Wednesday that the 47-year-old Masterson has been admitted to North Kern State Prison, and they released his first prison mug shot. The photo shows him wearing orange prison attire, with long hair and a beard.
In June, Masterson was convicted of raping two women in his Los Angeles home in 2003. In September, a judge sentenced him to 30 years to life in prison. His wife, actor Bijou Phillips, filed for divorce in the weeks that followed. They had been married for nearly 12 years.
He had been held in Los Angeles County jail in the months since while post-sentencing hearings were held and issues resolved, including the turnover of all the guns Masterson owned, some of which had to be located.
It will be more than 25 years before Masterson will be eligible for parole.
Masterson's lawyers said they plan to appeal the conviction.
Why is Danny Masterson in prison?
A jury of seven women and five men found Masterson guilty of two counts of rape on May 31, after seven days of deliberations. The jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on a third count, an allegation that Masterson also raped a longtime girlfriend.
"When you raped me, you stole from me. That’s what rape is, a theft of the spirit," said one woman who Masterson was convicted of raping in 2003. "You are pathetic, disturbed and completely violent. The world is better off with you in prison."
During the September sentencing, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo addressed Masterson before handing down his sentence.
"Mr. Masterson, I know that you’re sitting here steadfast in your claims of innocence and thus no doubt feeling victimized by a justice system that has failed you," Olmedo said. "But Mr. Masterson, you are not the victim here. Your actions 20 years ago took away another person’s voice and choice. One way or another you will have to come to terms with your prior actions and their consequences."
Masterson's lawyer, Shawn Holley, had told the judge before the sentencing that the actor "has lived an exemplary life. He has been an extraordinary father, husband, brother, son, co-worker and community servant."
The 30-year sentence was the maximum allowed by law. It means Masterson will be eligible for parole after serving 25½ years, but can be held in prison for life.
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