In June 2020, Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson was charged by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office with forcibly raping three women who were Scientologists at the time (they aren’t today). The DA’s office also revealed that it had considered the allegations of five different women before choosing to charge Masterson based on the allegations of three of them.
Four months earlier, we revealed here at the Underground Bunker that the LAPD had interviewed seven women about their allegations against Masterson in their investigation of the That ’70s Show actor.
Also around that time, the women who will be testifying against Masterson at his criminal trial (scheduled to begin on October 11) received a startling report. There was yet another victim that they had never heard about.
The news of this additional victim also reached us, but we were unable to confirm it at the time. We were told that Heather Smith-Levin, wife of YouTuber Aaron Smith-Levin, had come forward saying that when she was still in Scientology’s Sea Org, she had counseled a woman who claimed to be a victim of Danny Masterson. This victim, we were told, was still in Scientology and so there was little chance that she would cooperate with law enforcement. And because there was no record of her becoming a part of the investigation, we didn’t say anything.
But this week, Aaron Smith-Levin revealed all of this at his YouTube channel, and so now we can quote him on the record:
Some people have said I should say ‘alleged victims’ and not ‘victims,’ that perhaps it’s slanderous because a court and a jury have not found him to be guilty. I personally don’t need a judge or a jury to tell me about what I already know. I was still personally working for Scientology in Los Angeles as a member of Scientology’s Sea Organization when these acts that Danny is being accused of occurred. My wife was also still working for Scientology as a member of the Sea Organization out in LA when these attacks occurred, and the post that she was holding she actually received many of the reports that were written on Danny at that time by the Scientologists involved in these assaults. I know what I know. I know the people involved. I know they’re telling the truth. When all of this started to become public and information about this was being reported in the press, I was having a conversation with my wife and she said, you know I know of another victim of Danny’s who has not come forward yet because she’s still a Scientologist. And I assume most people know by now but if you’re a new viewer maybe you don’t know Scientologists are prohibited from ever reporting any information to the authorities about another Scientologist about anything no matter how criminal. So the name of that individual was provided to the authorities and it’s up to the authorities at that point to follow up, but in some ways the authorities are put in an almost impossible situation. It’s their job to prove that things occurred to get testimony to get evidence and yet when it comes to a Scientologist who’s the victim, if that Scientologist cooperates with the authorities they are expelled from Scientology and declared a Suppressive Person and they’ll lose all their friends their family their job, their housing, their income. It’s really an untenable situation. It’s almost impossible. It is impossible for Scientologists to cooperate with the authorities in matters that have to do with Scientology or other Scientologists and the only way they ever can cooperate is if they’re prepared to leave Scientology, prepare to lose their family, friends, and all that kind of stuff. So it’s a horrible situation that Scientologists who are victims of crimes are in, and that’s why I use the language that I use because I know it to be true and correct regardless of anything.
Meanwhile, in other news from the Masterson criminal case, things are heating up with only five weeks before trial as the prosecution has put out subpoenas to people it wants to testify. (Masterson has been charged under California’s “One Strike” law, and if he’s convicted of all three counts, he’s facing 45 years to life in prison. He has pleaded not guilty and has maintained his innocence.)
Some of the people the DA has subpoenaed are apparently not happy about it. On August 22, two motions were filed by potential witnesses, and as a result there’s now a hearing scheduled for September 14. One of the motions came from the law firm of Lavely & Singer, which is objecting to a subpoena and is trying to get it quashed. That’s the law firm that employs Danny Masterson’s civil attorney, Andrew Brettler, but it’s also the outfit of Brettler’s boss, legendary entertainment attorney Marty Singer.
We already know that Marty Singer is a part of this case and it makes sense that the prosecution would want him to testify. It was Marty Singer and Scientology attorney Kendrick Moxon, along with Scientology “ethics officer” Julian Swartz who, accuser Jane Doe 1 has testified, pressured her to sign a settlement with Masterson in 2004 which required her to keep quiet about her rape allegations. She testified last May that she was told that if she didn’t sign it, she would be declared a “Suppressive Person” by the church and lose all contact with her family.
We sent an email to Singer asking if he’s the target of the subpoena, and if he’s trying to keep from testifying in the trial. We’ll let you know if he gets back to us.
The other motion filed on August 22 is under seal, but we’ve learned that it was filed by someone who was subpoenaed but doesn’t want to testify at the trial, and is asking either to testify remotely or before the trial starts.
We don’t know who this person is, but we have some intriguing guesses. We’ll keep working to find out who it is.
Coming Wednesday
Our limited podcast series on the Sirens Media TV show about Scientology that never aired is coming to its conclusion Wednesday, and with the result we were hoping for.
Jamie DeWolf, the dynamic performer (and great-grandson of L. Ron Hubbard) who was meant to be the show’s presenter, is talking about the Sirens series for the first time anywhere.
You’re going to want to buckle in for this one.
Thank you for reading today’s story here at Substack. For the full picture of what’s happening today in the world of Scientology, please join the conversation at tonyortega.org, where we’ve been reporting daily on David Miscavige’s cabal since 2012. There you’ll find additional stories, and our popular regular daily features:
Source Code: Actual things founder L. Ron Hubbard said on this date in history
Avast, Ye Mateys: Snapshots from Scientology’s years at sea
Overheard in the Freezone: Indie Hubbardism, one thought at a time
Past is Prologue: From this week in history at alt.religion.scientology
Random Howdy: Your daily dose of the Captain
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Excellent on Aaron detailing his opinion. There are countless, likely 50 people who've all seen the reports on Dannie's admissions that are in Scientology's paperwork of Dannie's alleged rapes.
The quack Scientology pseudo-therapist who audited Dannie heard it from his own mouth. Where is she anyways, and is she going to be called to be on the stand when the time comes?
I wonder how close Dannie came to admitting he was guilty of the rapes, to Scientologists and how the reports written on him by Scientologists spelled out what he admitted.
But criminal law courtroom procedures, I wonder how much info will be allowed into the courtroom.
I hope some lawyers out there will give some opinions on how things will go.
"We’ll let you know if he gets back to us."....That never gets old and is always gives me a giggle. Has anyone in that basket ever 'gotten back' to TonyO?
Good on the prosecution, get the people how had knowledge of the 04 'incident' and the CO$ actions that prevented law enforcement from getting involved. Many must have been involved in the kangaroo court that stifled the victims. Getting their 'honest' testimony will put Rapey in prison for a long time. 'Acceptable truths' won't fly in court.