Los Angeles: That ‘70s Show actor Danny Masterson was convicted on Wednesday of raping two women at his Hollywood Hills home.

A jury deadlocked on another charge that Masterson raped a third woman between 2001 and 2003, said Greg Risling, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office.

Masterson, 47, got his breakout role as an adolescent rebel in the 1998 to 2006 television comedy series That ‘70s Show. The actor had pleaded not guilty to the rape charges.

Defence attorney Philip Cohen had urged jurors to acquit his client. According to City News Service, Cohen questioned the credibility of the alleged victims and said their stories had been tweaked over the years.

The case drew attention in part because Masterson met the women through the Church of Scientology, and two of the accusers said the organisation discouraged them from contacting law enforcement.

The Church of Scientology has rejected that claim and said Masterson’s religion should not have been an issue in the case.

“The church has no policy prohibiting or discouraging members from reporting criminal conduct of anyone, Scientologists or not, to law enforcement,” the organisation said in a statement.

Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2023