LOS ANGELES (AP) – A lawyer for “That Show in the ’70s,” Danny Masterson, pleaded not guilty on his behalf Wednesday to the rape of three women in the early 2000s.
Defense attorney Tom Mesereau filed a plea for Masterson, who was not present in court, on three counts of rape by force or fear in the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
The frequently delayed hearing coincided with the inauguration in Washington of President-elect Joe Biden, resulting in much less attention than Masterson’s initial court appearance in June. His action has been postponed several times since.
Prosecutors say Masterson, 44, who has been released since his June 17 arrest, raped a 23-year-old woman sometime in 2001, a 28-year-old woman in April 2003 and a woman. 23 years old between October and December 2003. All the alleged rapes took place at his home in Hollywood Hills.
Masterson could be sentenced to 45 years in prison.
Mesereau, whose previous clients included Michael Jackson and Bill Cosby, told the court in June that the allegations were the result of unfair media candy and political pressure to prosecute his client. The lawyer said his team would prove Masterson not guilty.
Masterson’s arrest came after a three-year investigation that led to the criminal prosecution of a famous Hollywood figure from the #MeToo era. Despite dozens of investigations, most have not led to any charges based on lack of evidence or too much time has passed since the alleged sexual assaults.
The alleged rapes took place at the height of Masterson’s fame, while he played the role of Steven Hyde in the retro series “That ’70s Show” on Fox TV, from 1998 to 2006, along with Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis and Topher Grace.