American actor, Danny Masterson, known for his role in ‘That ’70s Show’ is set to be arraigned in a Los Angeles court after he was accused of raping no fewer than three women.
Judge, Charlaine F. Olmedo, of the Los Angeles County Superior Court on Friday May 21 said that Masterson will stand trial on three counts of rape by force or fear, charges that could get him up to 45 years in prison.
According to reports, the court ruling comes after three days of emotional testimony from three women who said the actor Danny Masterson raped them nearly 20 years ago
Judge Charlaine said she found the women’s testimony credible for the purposes of the preliminary hearing, where the bar for sufficient evidence is significantly lower than it will be at the forthcoming trial.
Masterson has pleaded not guilty with his lawyers saying they would prove his innocence.
During the hearing, they repeatedly challenged the women on discrepancies in stories. They suggested that the prosecution was tainted by anti-religious bias against the Church of Scientology.
Masterson is a prominent Scientologist, all three women are former Scientologists, and the church, as well as its teachings, reportedly came up during testimony.
