Scientology looms over actor Danny Masterson rape case. How much will come out at trial?
LOS ANGELES — The two sides agree on one thing: The Church of Scientology is not on trial.
Yet, when prosecutors and actor Danny Masterson's defense team met in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom recently for a final meeting before Masterson's rape trial, much of the legal wrangling was over the role the controversial religion would play in the proceedings.
Masterson's lawyers wanted Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo to bar any mention of Scientology throughout the trial, which is expected to begin Tuesday. Reinhold Mueller, a prosecutor in the district attorney's office, argued that he should have free rein to invoke Scientology.
Masterson, a Scientologist, is charged with raping three women The women allege he plied them with alcohol and sexually assaulted them at his Hollywood Hills home.
