HOLLYWOOD HILLS—Actor and disc jockey Daniel Peter Masterson 44, known for his role on the TV series “That 70’s Show,” and Netflix’s “The Ranch” in 2017, entered a plea of not guilty to rape charges he is facing on January 20, 2021. Masterson has been charged with forcibly raping three women between 2001 and 2003.
According to reports from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Masterson was arrested on June 17, 2020 at 11:30 a.m. and released at 3 p.m. on a $3.3 million bond.
Masterson is accused of raping a 23-year-old female between January and December 2001. He is also accused of allegedly raping a 28-year-old female in April 2003 and another woman of the same age in October and December of that year. The incidents occurred in Masterson’s home in Hollywood Hills on separate occasions. He is being sued by four women who claim he drugged and raped them.
Masterson could face up to 45 years to life in state prison for sexual assault. Masterson’s attorney Tom Mesereau, 70, entered the plea of not guilty requesting that the case be heard in the future due to lack of evidence and the COVID-19 pandemic. Mesereau defended musician Michael Jackson in 2005 in a child molestation case.
Masterson also appeared in the films “Face/Off” alongside John Travolta and Nicolas Cage and the horror flick “Dracula 2000.”
Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller of the Sex Crimes Division is prosecuting the case.
