LOS ANGELES (AP) – A lawyer for actor Danny Masterson of “That ’70s Show” pleaded not guilty on his behalf on Wednesday for raping three women in the early 2000s.
Defense attorney Tom Mesereau filed Masterson’s petition, who was not present in court, on three counts of forcible rape or fear in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
The often delayed hearing coincided with the inauguration in Washington of President-elect Joe Biden, resulting in much less media attention than Masterson’s initial court hearing in June. His charge has been postponed several times since then.
Prosecutors alleged that Masterson, 44, who has been on bail since his arrest on June 17, raped a 23-year-old woman in 2001, a 28-year-old woman in April 2003 and a 23-year-old woman. between October and December 2003. All the alleged rapes took place at her home in the Hollywood Hills.
Masterson faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted.
Mesereau, whose previous clients included Michael Jackson and Bill Cosby, said in court in June that the charges were the result of an unfair media advertising campaign and political pressure to prosecute his client. The lawyer said his team would prove that Masterson is not guilty.
Masterson’s arrest came after a three-year investigation that resulted in the rare lawsuit against a famous Hollywood figure in the #MeToo era. Despite dozens of investigations, most have not resulted in any charges based on lack of evidence or a long time since the alleged sexual assaults.
The alleged rapes took place at the height of Masterson’s fame, when he starred as Steven Hyde on Fox TV’s retro sitcom “That ’70s Show” from 1998 to 2006 alongside Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis and Topher Grace.