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That 70’s Show Actor Danny Masterson Sentenced To 30 Years To Life In Prison For Raping 2 Women

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3 years ago

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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.

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Crime

Mumbai: Irfan Edenwala arrested on charges of fraud and preparing fake documents, including under the Arms Act

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12 hours ago

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May 30, 2026

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CRIME

Mumbai; The Mumbai Police has claimed to have arrested a youth who had cheated the police and administration by producing fake licenses and clearance certificates and had obtained fake police clearance certificates on Nagaland license. At Khar Police Station, Mumbai, a person named Faiz Irfan Edenwala, aged 36, illegally renewed his arms license from Nagaland using fake police clearance certificates and illegally kept firearms on the said arms license. He has also not submitted information about the said firearms in his possession to the Mumbai Police Commissionerate. Therefore, a case has been registered against him at Khar Police Station under sections 465, 467, 471, 474 IPC as well as sections 3, 25(1) (a), 30 of the Arms Act, 1959.

The accused named Faiz Irfan was arrested in the said crime on today as the investigation revealed that he was directly involved in the crime.

The said arrested accused was produced in the 9th Court, Bandra (East), Mumbai on May 30 and the Hon’ble Court remanded the said accused in police custody till June 2. Further investigation into the said crime is underway.

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Crime

NEET-UG 2026 Paper Leak Case: CBI Arrests 2 More Accused, Doctor From Latur & Coaching Faculty From Pune

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4 days ago

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May 27, 2026

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Mumbai: CBI has arrested two more accused in NEET-UG 2026 Examination paper leak case, bringing the total number of persons arrested in this case to 13.

An accused namely Dr Manoj Shirure, a Latur-based doctor has been arrested in the NEET UG 2026 questions leak case. He played key role in facilitating three students including the son of an accused coaching centre owner in getting the Chemistry questions from the accused P V Kulkarni. 

Another arrested accused is Tejas Shah, who is a physics faculty at a Pune-based coaching centre. He got the leaked Physics questions of NEET UG 2026 Exam from arrested accused Manisha Havaldar. 

Investigation to unearth the chain as well as the conspiracy in this case is ongoing. CBI has so far conducted searches at 49 locations at various places and seized several incriminating documents, Laptops, and mobile phones. Detailed analysis of the seized items is going on.

It may be recalled that CBI has registered this case on 12.05.2026 based on the written complaint given by Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India pertaining to alleged paper leak of NEET-UG 2026 Examination. Immediately after registration of the case, special teams were formed and searches were conducted at various locations across the country, and several suspects were picked up and interrogated. 

So far 13 accused have been arrested in this case from Delhi, Jaipur, Gurugram, Nasik, Pune, Latur and Ahliyanagar. Investigation is continuing with various special teams working in tandem and the investigation has brought out the actual source of the leakage of Chemistry, Biology and Physics questions which were circulated before the exam. 

CBI is committed to comprehensive, impartial and professional investigation in this case. 

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Crime

Delhi Police bust interstate cyber fraud network; three held for supplying bank account kits, SIM cards

Published

4 days ago

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May 27, 2026

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New Delhi, May 27: The Cyber Police Station of Central District Police on Wednesday busted an interstate cyber fraud network involved in supplying bank account kits, SIM cards, and ATM cards that were used in online fraud cases. Three key operatives linked to the racket have been arrested from Haryana, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh.

According to police, the accused targeted innocent citizens by impersonating Paytm employees and gaining access to victims’ mobile phones on the pretext of updating KYC details or Paytm settings.

The breakthrough came after a complaint was lodged at PS Cyber Central by a tea seller residing in South Patel Nagar, Delhi. The complainant alleged that an unidentified man visited his tea stall posing as a Paytm employee and offered to update the KYC settings on his mobile phone. During the process, the fraudster dishonestly gained access to the device and fraudulently transferred Rs 90,000 from the victim’s bank account.

Following the complaint, police conducted a preliminary enquiry and technical examination of the transaction trail. Subsequently, FIR No. 26/2026 dated May 15, under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), was registered at PS Cyber Central, and an investigation was initiated.

Considering the seriousness and interstate nature of the offence, a dedicated police team comprising SI Ravinder Kumar, HC Deepak, and HC Jai Kishan was formed under the supervision of SHO/Cyber Inspector Yograj Dalal and the overall supervision of ACP/OPS/Central Shri Padam Singh Rana.

During the investigation, the team carried out extensive technical surveillance, beneficiary account verification, bank transaction analysis, CCTV footage examination, digital profiling, and financial trail analysis. Investigators found that the cheated amount had been transferred into a Punjab National Bank account allegedly being used for routing proceeds of cyber fraud.

Further scrutiny of KYC documents, transaction records, and registered mobile numbers led to the identification of accused Vishesh Singh, a resident of Panchkula, Haryana. Police later discovered that beneficiary bank accounts, SIM cards, and ATM kits were being procured and supplied through an organised interstate network for use in cyber fraud activities.

Acting on technical inputs and local Intelligence, police teams conducted multiple raids in Panchkula, Haryana; Zirakpur in Mohali; and adjoining areas of Haryana and Punjab. Sustained surveillance and field verification ultimately resulted in the arrest of three accused persons on May 19.

The arrested accused have been identified as Vishesh Singh, 22, a resident of Panchkula, Haryana; Sachin Maurya, 22, also from Panchkula; and Ashish Sharma, 27, a resident of Kottla Kallan in Himachal Pradesh’s Una district.

According to police, Vishesh Singh acted as a beneficiary bank account holder and supplied bank account kits and SIM cards for cyber fraud activities. Sachin Maurya allegedly worked as a facilitator involved in collecting bank account kits and supplying them to other cyber fraud operatives. Ashish Sharma was allegedly responsible for handling and supplying multiple bank account kits to cyber fraud associates operating in different locations.

During interrogation, the accused disclosed that they used to receive commissions for arranging and supplying bank accounts, ATM cards, registered SIM cards, and banking credentials. These were later used by cyber fraudsters for routing and withdrawing cheated money in various fraud cases.

Police said the accused acted as intermediaries between bank account providers and organised cyber fraud syndicates operating in different states through mule bank accounts.

Technical surveillance, WhatsApp profiling, digital communication analysis, and mobile number linkage examination further revealed the active involvement of Sachin Maurya and Ashish Sharma in arranging, collecting, and circulating bank account kits and SIM cards to cyber fraudsters.

Investigators also found that the accused extensively used social media platforms such as Instagram and WhatsApp for communication, coordination, and transferring banking kits among members of the cyber fraud network.

Analysis of the seized mobile phones revealed incriminating digital evidence, including WhatsApp chats related to the supply of bank accounts and commission distribution, contact details of suspected cyber fraud associates, social media communications with co-accused persons, and details of mule bank accounts, SIM cards, and beneficiary account credentials.

Police recovered four mobile phones allegedly used for circulating bank account details and coordinating cyber fraud activities.

Further technical examination has revealed possible links with several other cyber fraud complaints and interstate cyber fraud modules. Investigation regarding the identification of additional co-accused persons, tracing of cheated money, and identification of other victims is currently underway.

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