Danny Masterson Rape Trial Gets Increasingly Graphic As Jane Doe #1 Cross-Examination Continues – Update 

UPDATED with extra particulars: “It was stress and squeeze,” Jane Doe #1 mentioned Thursday below cross-examination within the second full day of testimony within the Danny Masterson rape trial, relating to what occurred in an alleged sexual assault by the actor in April 2003.  

Displaying how she mentioned the previous That ’70s Present star had his palms and physique on her in his Hollywood Hills house, the witness additionally instructed protection legal professional Phillip Cohen, the jury and others assembled that she misplaced consciousness a complete of seven instances through the incident.  

The more and more graphic path of the already vivid trial additionally took a flip in the direction of linguistics as nicely. “I don’t recall if I used ‘strangled,’ ” Jane Doe #1/Jen B mentioned of the supposed second rape by Masterson and the best way she referred to it in a later interview with the LAPD. 

Moreover, as soon as once more at present, issues turned tense procedurally within the ninth-floor courtroom on the Clara Shortridge Foltz Legal Justice Heart in downtown Los Angeles as among the quiet issues had been mentioned out loud through the later morning session of the high-profile case.  

At round 11:20 a.m. PT, L.A. Superior Court docket Decide Charlene Olmedo requested the jury to exit the courtroom for the second time of the day. “This line of questioning along with her is getting convoluted,” Olmedo instructed Cohen, noting that if Jane Doe #1 doesn’t keep in mind the LAPD detective, a Detective Meyers, or their 2004 interview she will’t reply his queries. Maybe extra significantly and in violation of guidelines surrounding an individual’s previous sexual historical past, Olmedo admonished Cohen for asking Jen B earlier within the day about whether or not or not she urinated on the street in 2003 attributable to alcohol consumption.   

“I’ve obtained to imagine I’m allowed to comply with up with conduct,” Cohen countered, citing the highlight the prosecution placed on what Jen B could or could haven’t consumed on the nights in query in September 2002 and late April 2003, when Masterson allegedly raped her. 

“The individuals aren’t alleging Mr. Masterson drugged her, as a result of there isn’t any proof of that,” the choose mentioned, chopping to the true difficulty at hand.  

With Masterson standing up subsequent to the protection desk, Cohen strongly disagreed with the choose’s perspective. “The clear inference of questioning and reply yesterday … is that there was one thing fishy about this drink,” he mentioned, detailing the time the Los Angeles District Legal professional’s Workplace spent on the “tumblers” that Masterson gave Jen B at his home in each 2002 and 2003. The choose instructed Cohen he may submit paperwork on the problem, however for now the lawyer needed to be extra circumspect in cross-examination with regard to what Jen B associated to the LAPD in 2004.   

Centering on one other newer LAPD interview with one other detective, Esther Reyes, Cohen tried to undermine statements that Jen B made about making an attempt to name her father from Masterson’s home in mid-2003. Shifting the witness to tears, Cohen grilled her over if there ever was such a name or voicemail. Because the courtroom went near-silent, Jen B responded that she wished to name her father for assist below the premise she was going to sing him “Completely satisfied Birthday,” however her cellphone was taken from her.  

Again from the morning break and an earthquake drill earlier within the day, the courtroom discovered Cohen questioning Jen B whether or not she recalled saying that Masterson apologized when she requested him to cease having contact along with her anus through the September 2002 incident. Particularly, Cohen requested her to have a look at a 2004 interview with Detective Meyers and particulars of that night time. “Does it refresh your recollection that Masterson apologized?” he requested.  

After consideration of paperwork given to her in courtroom, Jen B claimed that Masterson apologized for the anal contact later, although not through the incident itself. “You mentioned I may make clear the questions and also you weren’t making an attempt to trick me,” the witness mentioned to Cohen as he continued to comply with the road of questioning. “I don’t keep in mind an interview with this particular person, I don’t know what they seem like,” Jen B exclaimed of the sit-down with Meyers, a feminine member of the LAPD.  

Searching for inconsistencies within the witness’ story concerning the 2002 incident, Cohen requested Jen B if going again to Masterson’s home after having a drink was “poor determination making.” The witness disagreed, however did admit she was a bit extra hesitant being across the actor after the incident.  

Returning to his concentrate on Jen B and her tolerance for alcohol, Cohen slipped in earlier than the jury a declare that she as soon as urinated on the street within the early 2000s below the affect. The prosecution objected to the relevance of the query, which Olmedo sustained, however the comment was now on the market.  

Shifting to the April 2003 sexual encounter with Masterson, which discovered Jen B nauseous and incapacitated after consuming a “fruity” alcohol beverage earlier that night, Cohen’s questions concerning the sequence of occasions turned a volley of “sure” and “no” solutions from the witness.  

“I don’t recall of fascinated by September ’02, it was upsetting,” Jen B replied in additional element when Cohen requested her about her emotions as Masterson supposedly was “pulling you” down a hallway and “carries you” up some stairs. “That is very scary, proper?” the lawyer mentioned, to an virtually inaudible response from the witness.  

In prior testimony and former depositions and paperwork, Jen B detailed how Masterson gave her a drink on his porch in 2003, threw her in his jacuzzi, and later took her upstairs to a toilet to vomit earlier than assaulting her in his bed room. Pacing backwards and forwards as his shopper Masterson seemed on, Cohen referred to a 2004 LAPD interview Jen B gave to an Officer Alexander Shlegal which appeared to contradict her testimony.

PREVIOUSLY, 10:39 AM: The cross-examination of Jane Doe #1 within the Danny Masterson rape trial continued Thursday and at instances was a battle of wills between the witness and the protection, with the choose having to step in on a lot of events.

With a level of parrying between Jane Doe #1/Jen B and lead protection lawyer Phillip Cohen from the beginning of this morning’s proceedings in Los Angeles Superior Court docket, the legal professional wasted little time searching for to shred the witness’ reconsideration of whether or not or not an alleged September 2002 sexual encounter with the That ’70s Present actor was consensual. It was a theme Cohen got here again to repeatedly this morning.

Repeating his personal questions when Jen B failed to present him the response he sought, a pacing Cohen additionally tried to color Jen B from the soar as trying to squeeze Masterson for money within the pending civil lawsuit towards him and the Church of Scientology.   

Going by an inventory of damages within the 2019-filed case towards the church over alleged surveillance and intimidation, Cohen elicited a “sure” again and again from the witness. Nonetheless, with mild steering from Decide Charlene Olmedo on his method, Cohen didn’t get each “sure” he wished.  

“I don’t know as I sit right here,” Jen B responded when Cohen requested if she and her fellow civil plaintiffs, all ex-Scientologists, had been searching for the doable huge bucks of treble damages below California legislation.  

First arrested in 2020 and free on simply over a $3 million bail price ticket, Masterson is taking a look at a doable most sentence of 45 years to life in California state jail if discovered responsible. The actor, who subsequently was fired from Netflix’s comedy The Ranch on the finish of 2017 as claims turned recognized, at all times has denied he had nonconsensual intercourse.

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Shifting to Jen B’s assembly with the Los Angeles Police Division in June 2004, subsequent sit-downs with police detectives in 2016 and 2017 over the alleged rape or rapes by Masterson, and a 2017 assembly with Los Angeles County Assistant District Legal professional Reinhold Mueller, Cohen picked up on what he beforehand termed as inconsistencies in Jen. B’s story.  

In basic protection lawyer fashion, to cite Cohen from earlier Wednesday over the introduction of fabric from the non-disclosure settlement the witness signed in 2004 (wherein she acquired $400,000 in installments(: “The truth that JB testified to one thing, doesn’t make it true.” 

In that context, Jen B pushed again at one level to Cohen’s assertion that she didn’t converse to any LAPD officers between 2004 and 2016. Difficult the lawyer’s phrase of his query, the witness mentioned that actually she had spoken to entrance desk cops on a number of events over these years. Alternately, then-second-generation Scientologist Jen B agreed she “could have” instructed the LAPD in 2004 that she didn’t keep in mind all the incident and that she didn’t need her church-member dad and mom to search out out what had occurred with Masterson. 

Cohen appeared to strike out along with his efforts to show that Jen B had an issue with alcohol within the early 2000s. After a string of objections by the prosecution on the protection lawyer’s sharp line of questioning had been sustained by the Los Angeles Superior Court docket choose, the jury was requested to depart the courtroom. Chastising Mueller for his fixed objections, Olmedo sternly instructed Cohen that any witness’ previous historical past of alcohol consumption and another substance is “off-limits …except it’s immediately related.”  

“We’re not going to go there,” Olmedo emphatically instructed Cohen, mentioning that Jen B had truly testified earlier within the case that she felt she was intoxicated in 2002 in relation to the quantity of alcohol she had consumed with Masterson and others. Standing his personal floor, Cohen argued that Jen B had mentioned in any other case on different events. Advised by the choose to refocus his inquiries, the lawyer added that he believed it was related that Jen B had a low tolerance for booze as a result of she had been apparently abstaining beforehand.  

With the jury again within the room, Jen B agreed that she did have a low tolerance for alcohol within the fall of 2002.

The cross-examination quickly moved to a sexual encounter between Jen B and Masterson within the latter’s Hollywood Hills house in September 2002. “I by no means mentioned no,” the witness mentioned of the vaginal intercourse the 2 had. Beginning to cry, Jen B did say that she instructed Masterson to not contact her anus through the encounter.   

Going into its scheduled morning break, the trial may hear from Hollywood heavyweight lawyer Marty Singer later within the day, relying on how for much longer Jen B is on the stand.  The pugilistic legal professional represented Masterson, who went below the title of David Dunkin within the 2004 NDA that Jen B signed, as was detailed in Wednesday’s testimony.

On this present day of the 2022 Nice California ShakeOut earthquake preparedness in LA, there was additionally a small shakeup within the jury, with one of many panelists requesting to drop out attributable to “anxiousness.” Coming off the extreme testimony of Jane Doe #1/Jen B the day earlier than, Olmedo conferred with attorneys on either side and so they agreed to interchange the departing juror with one of many alternates randomly chosen.

In a parallel transfer to the occasions unfolding within the Clara Shortridge Foltz Legal Justice Heart, the Church of Scientology on Wednesday filed paperwork to be allowed to place motions within the docket within the presently paused civil case that the three alleged victims in Masterson rape trial and others filed towards the church. Initially filed in 2019, the go well with claims that the plaintiffs have been harassed, stalked and even seen pets killed by the church and church associates for going to the LAPD with their allegations towards Masterson.

Needing to have the entire thing handled behind closed doorways in “spiritual arbitration” as per contracts inked when the now former members joined the church, Scientology just lately noticed the Supreme Court docket reject its petition to take up that matter. That petition was in response to a California appellate courtroom earlier this 12 months deeming that the ex-church members had a First Modification proper to not be held to the stipulations of a non secular organizations as soon as they’ve left the group.

All events have agreed over the previous few months to have the civil matter stayed whereas Masterson’s prison trial proceeds and a verdict is delivered.