“This part about not reporting to civil authorities,” she replied. “What section did he want you to demo?” asked Mueller. In Scientology, it’s really common,” she testified. “Demoing it to prove you understand the concept. She too was given a “demo kit” so she could demonstrate by modeling with clay and with small trinkets that she understood the consequences of going to the police. Like Jane Doe 3, she testified that she was told by a Scientology “Master-at-Arms” not to use the word “rape,” and she was warned about keeping any allegations within the church. On May 1, the court heard testimony from another victim, Jane Doe 1, who described her own difficulties telling Scientology about being attacked by Masterson, in her case in the early hours of April 25, 2003. (Jane Doe 3’s case is the one the jury hung on, and read backs of testimony the jury requested suggested that a complex situation involving two different incidents in 2001 had made her case more difficult for the jury to reach a unanimous verdict on.) Later, she testified that the ethics handling also required her to make “amends” to Masterson, her attacker, which included getting his car washed. These policies instructed her that if she violated the rules and spoke out about Masterson, she would be subject to excommunication from the church - known as being declared a “Suppressive Person” in Scientology jargon - and would then be subject to “Fair Game,” Scientology’s brand of retaliation with the use of private investigators and other operators.Īctor Danny Masterson arrives at Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles, Califronia, on May 31, 2023, with wife Bijou Phillips for his retrial for allegedly raping three women between 20.
Jane Doe 3 testified that she was then put on a two-month “ethics handling” rigmarole, which included looking up various Scientology policies. Jane Doe 3 testified that after she had been attacked by Masterson in December 2001 and decided to turn him in to an “ethics officer” at Scientology’s Hollywood Celebrity Centre, she was told not to use the word “rape” because “She told me you cannot rape someone you’re in a relationship with.”
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Throughout both trials, Scientology spokeswoman Karin Pouw repeatedly made similar claims to news organizations, arguing that there is no policy in Scientology that prevents members from turning in other members to the police.īut trial witnesses repeatedly pointed to language in Scientology’s own “Introduction to Ethics” book that said the opposite, listing as a “high crime” the act of “Reporting or threatening to report Scientology or Scientologists to civil authorities in an effort to suppress Scientology or Scientologists from practicing or receiving standard Scientology.”įormer Scientologists said in court that it was drilled into them: They could never go to police about other Scientologists, but instead should report any crimes to Scientology’s own internal “justice” structure.
All allegations to the contrary are totally FALSE,” read the statement, which was unsigned and posted at a church website. Quite the opposite, Church policy explicitly demands Scientologists abide by all laws of the land. “The Church has no policy prohibiting or discouraging members from reporting criminal conduct of anyone - Scientologists or not - to law enforcement. The Church of Scientology itself complained bitterly about the inclusion of its policies in the trial in a statement it released that afternoon. Mark Ruffalo Calls Out Hollywood’s ‘Harm’ to Native Americans Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo had ruled on March 28 that she was giving the prosecution more leeway to bring in evidence of Scientology’s practices and policies, which she more narrowly limited in the first trial. (The Church of Scientology did not respond to a request for comment for the story.) And Scientology,” she replied.Īnd so began what turned into three weeks of testimony filled with repeated references to the Church of Scientology, and in much more detail than the first trial. When Mueller asked what might be causing her concern about testifying, she said, “I’m scared.”
The first witness on the stand was one of Masterson’s alleged victims, Jane Doe 3, who had been in a relationship with Masterson between 19.ĭeputy DA Reinhold Mueller asked her how she was feeling. On the morning of April 25, testimony began in the second rape trial of That ’70s Show actor Danny Masterson after an initial trial ended last November in a hung jury and mistrial.
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