Actor Danny Masterson was convicted of two counts of rape Wednesday after his second trial on charges that he sexually assaulted three women he met through the Church of Scientology, ending a years-long legal saga that marked a rare instance of the controversial faith’s practices being dragged into a courtroom.
After a week of deliberations, jurors were convinced the 47-year-old actor — who rose to prominence as the mercurial Steven Hyde on the sitcom “That ’70s Show” — had sexually assaulted two women identified as Jen B. and N. Trout inhis Hollywood Hills home in the early 2000s.
The jurors hung on a third count stemming from allegations made by Chrissie B., who was once Masterson’s longtime girlfriend. The jury foreperson said the panel was leaning toward a guilty verdict on that count but was deadlocked 8 to 4 in favor of conviction.
