Leah Remini Calls Danny Masterson Dangerous After Sentencing _ E! News

Transcript

00:00 Leah Remini calls Danny Masterson "dangerous" following his sentencing, plus she criticizes

00:06 the Church of Scientology, of which he has been a longtime member.

00:11 Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, after the That '70s Show alum was sentenced to 30

00:16 years to life in prison on Sept. 7 for two counts of rape, the King of Queens actress

00:22 writes, "I am relieved that this dangerous rapist will be off the streets and unable

00:27 to violently assault and rape women with the help of Scientology, a multi-billion-dollar

00:32 criminal organization with tax-exempt status."

00:35 Hearing the survivors read their victim impact statements aloud in court, while the man who

00:40 raped them and some of the very Scientologists who terrorized them over two decades were

00:45 just a few feet away, displayed a level of bravery that I am in awe of.

00:51 When asked to comment on Remini's allegations, the Church directed E! News to their May statement,

00:56 in which they called the trial an "unprecedented violation of the First Amendment."

01:01 At the time, they added, "The Church was not a party to this case and religion did not

01:05 belong in this proceeding, as Supreme Court precedent has maintained for centuries."

01:10 Remini, who was raised in the Church of Scientology and has become a vocal critic since leaving,

01:16 adds, "The women who survived Danny's predation fought tirelessly for justice.

01:22 Their tenacity, strength and courage have given hope to all victims of Scientology that

01:26 justice is possible.

01:28 To the LAPD detectives, the L.A. District Attorney's Office, Judge Almeido and the

01:33 jury, we thank you for your fair and impartial approach to this case and trial."

01:39 In a statement obtained by E! News on September 7th, the L.A. District Attorney wrote, "This

01:44 has been a long and arduous road for the victims of Mr. Masterson.

01:48 They not only survived his abuse, they also survived a system that is not often kind to

01:54 victims," adding, "Los Angeles will no longer be a hunting ground for Hollywood elite who

01:59 feel entitled to prey on women."

02:01 Meanwhile, Masterson's lawyer maintained that her client was innocent in a statement

02:06 to E! News.

02:07 The attorney said that Masterson, "did not commit the crimes for which he has been convicted,

02:12 and we and the appellate lawyers, the best and the brightest in the country, are confident

02:17 that these convictions will be overturned."

02:20 All this comes after the former sitcom star's trial in May, during which a jury found him

02:25 guilty of raping two women at his Hollywood Hills home from 2001 to 2003.

02:31 The seven-woman, five-man jury could not reach a verdict on a third count, which alleged

02:36 Masterson raped a former girlfriend.

02:39 According to the Associated Press, the three women, identified as Jane Doe 1, 2 and 3,

02:45 told the court they met the actor through the Church of Scientology, later accusing

02:49 the organization of pressuring them into not reporting the allegations to police.

02:55 In a May 31 statement obtained by E! News, the church denied their accusations, noting

03:00 that it "has no policy prohibiting or discouraging members from reporting criminal conduct of

03:06 anyone, Scientologists or not, to law enforcement."

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