Crime
That 70’s Show Actor Danny Masterson Sentenced To 30 Years To Life In Prison For Raping 2 Women
US actor Danny Masterson has been sentenced to serve 30 years to life in prison for raping two women, the media reported. Masterson starred on ‘That 70’s Show’, a TV series that was airing at the time of his crimes in the early 2000s. Prosecutors argued Masterson, 47, had relied on his status as a prominent Scientologist to avoid accountability.
Judge Charlaine Olmedo allowed the victims of his crimes to read impact statements in court ahead of his sentencing. Prominent former Scientologist and actress Leah Remini attended Thursday’s sentencing hearing and comforted the women before and after they delivered their statements. “I wished I had reported him earlier to the police,” one of the women said, according to US media.
Another woman told Masterson: “I forgive you. Your sickness is no longer mine to bear,” according to Reuters.
Masterson remained silent throughout the hearing. As the judge read his sentence — the maximum penalty allowed — his wife, Bijou Phillips, was seen in court breaking down in tears.
Masterson was found guilty in May at a re-trial after the first jury was unable to reach a verdict in 2022. After his conviction, Masterson was deemed a flight risk and was taken into prison custody. The actor was convicted after three women testified that he had sexually assaulted them at his Hollywood home from 2001-03 — during the height of his television fame.
The jury heard testimony that he had given them drugs before he assaulted them. He was found guilty of rape against two of his three accusers. The charges brought by the third accuser were declared a mistrial and prosecutors said they do not plan to retry the case.
Alison Anderson, a lawyer representing two of the victims, said in a statement sent that the women “have displayed tremendous strength and bravery, by coming forward to law enforcement and participating directly in two gruelling criminal trials”.
“Despite persistent harassment, obstruction, and intimidation, these courageous women helped hold a ruthless sexual predator accountable today,”
Masterson was first accused of rape in 2017 during the height of the #MeToo movement. He denied the accusations and said each of the encounters was consensual. Charges came after a three-year investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department.
Prosecutors did not file charges in two other cases because of insufficient evidence and the statute of limitations expiring. Throughout the trial, prosecutors argued that the Church of Scientology had helped cover up the assaults — an allegation the organisation has categorically denied.
At the time of the assaults, Masterson and all three of his accusers were Scientologists. Several of the women said it took them years to come forward because Church of Scientology officials discouraged them from reporting the rape to police. Scientology officials told one survivor she would be kicked out of the Church of Scientology unless she signed a non-disclosure agreement and accepted a payment of $400,000 (£320,000), according to prosecutors.
she said, adding that the women will continue to speak out about the role the church allegedly played during their abuse.
In court on Thursday, one woman described being shunned by her mother, who is still a practicing Scientologist. “She texted me and told me to never contact her again,” she said. “She had warned me ahead of time she wanted to see Danny Masterson locked away for what he’d done to me, but not at the expense of her religion.”
Another woman said she had been victimised by the church ever since she first spoke out. “Since the week I came forward to police I have been terrorised, harassed and had my privacy invaded daily by the cult of Scientology for almost seven years now,” she said, adding: “But I don’t regret it.”
During the trial, Judge Olmedo allowed both sides to discuss the dogma and practices of Scientology, angering the organisation. In its statement after the verdict in May, the Church of Scientology said there was “not a scintilla of evidence supporting the scandalous allegations that the Church harassed the accusers”.
Thursday’s sentencing was also attended by Jessica Barth, who founded “Voices in Action” in the wake of the #MeToo movement. Barth was one of the women to publicly accuse disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of abuse. Her non-profit works to encourage others to come forward and report abuse. Before the hearing, a motion for a new trial by Masterson’s defence team was denied by the judge, according to an Los Angeles court official.
Crime
RG Kar rape-murder: Victim’s parents approach Calcutta HC seeking fresh probe
Kolkata, Dec 19: Not satisfied with the current course of investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the ghastly rape and murder of a junior doctor of R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata in August this year, the parents of the victim on Thursday approached the Calcutta High Court seeking a court direction for initiating a fresh probe into the matter.
The victim’s parents have claimed that they do not have any faith in the course of the current investigation by the central agency in the matter and hence they want a fresh investigation from the beginning in the matter.
The parents have moved the single-judge Bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh with their petition in the matter.
Justice Ghosh has admitted the petition and the matter might come up for hearing next week.
According to the parents, since the trial process in the matter has already started and the statements of the witnesses are being recorded, unless the Calcutta High Court intervenes in the matter right now, there might be possibilities of the probe going in the wrong direction.
Since the time a special court in Kolkata last week granted “default bail” to two individuals accused of tampering with the evidence since the CBI was unable to file a supplementary charge sheet against them within 90 days from the day of their arrest, the victim’s parents as well as the representatives of the state’s medical fraternity had been accusing the CBI of gross incompetence in the matter.
Those two accused persons were the former principal of R.G. Kar Sandip Ghosh and the former SHO of Tala Police Station Abhijit Mondal. Ghosh is still behind bars because of the pending parallel probe by the CBI against him in the case of financial irregularities at R.G. Kar, while Mondal is already out on bail.
The CBI so far has filed only one charge sheet in the case were civic volunteer Sanjay Roy had been identified as the “sole prime accused” in the rape and murder.
Recently, the victim’s parents have also changed their counsel representing them at the Supreme Court of India.
West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front, an umbrella of the body of the junior doctors in the state spearheading the movement on this issue, has already threatened to resume their protests which they withdrew earlier keeping the larger public interest in mind.
Crime
Arms, ammunition, narcotics recovered by security forces in J&K’s Kupwara
Srinagar, Dec 18: Security forces said on Wednesday that a large cache of arms, ammunition and narcotics was recovered during searches in Jammu and Kashmir’s (J&K) Kupwara district.
Officials said on Wednesday, “Security forces, including the Army and the police recovered four pistols, six pistol magazines, four kilograms of narcotics, and other incriminating materials during a search operation in the general area of Amrohi, Tangdhar in Kupwara District.”
Security forces have started an aggressive campaign against terrorists, their Over Ground Workers (OGWs) and sympathisers in order to dismantle the terror ecosystem in J&K.
Properties worth multiples of crores belonging to drug smugglers and peddlers have been attached in Kashmir Valley after obtaining requisite orders from the competent authority.
Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha has been chairing top-level security meetings.
During these meetings the LG has given clear orders to the security forces to go all-out against the terror ecosystem.
Union Home Minister, Amit Shah is chairing a top level security review meeting regarding J&K on Thursday in Delhi.
Chiefs of Intelligence agencies, police, CAPFs and others connected with the anti-terrorist grid in J&K will attend the meeting.
Security forces revised their strategy after terrorists carried out some dastardly attacks in the aftermath of peaceful people participative Lok Sabha and legislative Assembly elections in J&K.
These elections were witnessed by diplomats of many countries and this, according to Intelligence agencies, has frustrated the terror handlers sitting across the border in Pakistan.
Intelligence inputs indicate that the terror handlers have given directions to terrorists in J&K to give dying terrorism its last push.
Heightened vigilance is also being maintained at the border in J&K following reports that terrorists are waiting at the launching pads to sneak into the Indian side of the border before the mountain passes are closed by this season’s snow.
Crime
RG Kar case: Calcutta HC admits petition challenging denial of police permission for protest
Kolkata, Dec 17: A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday morning admitted a petition by the West Bengal Joint Platform of Doctors, an umbrella association of senior doctors, challenging the denial of permission from Kolkata Police to stage a 10-day sit-in-demonstration to protest the “default bail” to two accused — Sandip Ghosh and Abhijit Mondal — of tampering of evidence.
However, the original schedule of the sit-in-protest which was to start from Tuesday evening till December 26, had been upset since the hearing into the matter is likely to take place on Wednesday, confirmed an office bearer of the association.
The association had earlier sent an email communiqué to Kolkata Police seeking permission for the sit-in-demonstration at Dorina Crossing in central Kolkata. However, as the police denied the permission citing the possibility of traffic congestion in the area as the reason, the association on Tuesday morning approached Calcutta High Court’s single-judge bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh, challenging the denial of police permission, which was admitted.
Last Friday, the special court in Kolkata granted “default bail” to the former and controversial principal of R.G. Kar Sandip Ghosh and the former SHO of Tala Police Station, Abhijit Mondal, following CBI’s failure to file a charge sheet against them the stipulated within 90 days of their arrests.
Both Ghosh and Mondal were accused of misleading the investigation and tampering with evidence during the initial investigation carried out by the Kolkata Police.
The CBI has so far filed only one charge sheet in the matter where civic volunteer Sanjay Roy has been identified as the “sole prime” accused in the rape and murder case.
Already West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front, an umbrella body of junior doctors in the state, has threatened to resume their ceasework protest which they withdrew earlier keeping the larger public interest in mind.
The parents of the victim lady doctor have already claimed that following CBI’s failure in the matter “protests on the streets” with spontaneous public support is the only way out left for them now.
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