The Los Angeles Police Department is looking into allegations that actor Danny Masterson raped three women, accusations that have been kept under wraps for years, according to a bombshell media report published on Friday.
The LAPD confirmed the investigation to Page Six.
“The Los Angeles Police Department Robbery Homicide Division, Sexual Assault Section, is conducting an investigation involving the actor Danny Masterson. Three women have come forward and disclosed that they were sexually assaulted by Masterson during the early 2000s,” the LAPD statement read.
On his website The Underground Bunker, Tony Ortega wrote that all three women were Scientologists at the time. Masterson is a practicing Scientologist.
Ortega, a former Village Voice editor who left the paper to cover the inner workings of the Church of Scientology, reports that the first woman only came forward to former member Leah Remini after the actress’ anti-Scientology series began airing on A&E last November.
The alleged victim, who was in a relationship with “That ’70s Show” star Masterson, claimed he raped her more than 15 years ago, Ortega wrote. After hearing the woman’s story, Remini encouraged her to go to police and became personally involved in the investigation.
Ortega posted a police report showing a second alleged victim came forward in the early 2000s. A third woman’s claims are also being investigated, LAPD told us.
Masterson vigorously denied the report in a statement released by his publicist to Page Six and pointed an accusatory finger at Remini.
“We are aware of [the alleged victim’s old] allegations. It was only after [the alleged victim] was in contact with Leah Remini that she made allegations of sexual assault by Mr. Masterson,” read the statement, from which Page Six has redacted the alleged victim’s name.
Masterson then claimed that the accuser had continued to date him after the alleged incident, and accused her of erratic behavior. “In fact, we are informed by the Church that the only demand [the alleged victim] made of the Church after Danny broke up with her was asking for their help to intervene so the breakup would not be permanent,” the statement reads.
The statement continues, “We are aware also that approximately 14 years ago a woman referred to in the blog made allegations of sexual assault and that the LAPD interviewed numerous witnesses and determined the claim had no merit. Based on reading the anti-Scientology blog that posted this story, these false allegations appear to be motivated to boost Leah Remini’s anti-Scientology television series since [the alleged victim] only came forward after connecting with Leah Remini.”
Shortly after the statement was released to Page Six and other outlets, Ortega posted a screen grab showing that Masterson’s publicist was listed as a witness on the second alleged victim’s police report. The publicist did not respond to our request to confirm or deny the allegation.
Masterson is currently starring in the Netflix sitcom “The Ranch ” alongside his “That ’70s Show” co-star Ashton Kutcher.
Reps for Remini and the Church of Scientology did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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