Late morning session, Day 7 (Day 3 of testimony), Danny Masterson retrial.
[Please note, for those puzzled about the reference to “Lily” in the last report, see this story we wrote in 2020. No evidence that Lily exists has ever turned up in this case, and Judge Olmedo has barred any mention of this rumor during the retrial.]
Jury coming in.
Continuing direct examination of Jane Doe 3.
Mueller: You were contacted by a person that mentioned to you that there might be another victim by the name [Jane Doe 1].
JD3: Yes, sir.
And then you tried to locate her?
Yes, sir.
Through social media?
Yes, sir.
Then she did respond?
Yes, sir.
Do you recall when that was?
October 21, 2016.
And your communication with her, was that online or on the phone?
On the phone.
That first time you spoke to her, do you recall what that was like?
Yes, sir.
Can you tell us? (Obj, will allow it for effect on listener) The conversation you had, did that involve you discussing what happened with you and Mr. Masterson?
I didn't have to tell her, no.
Did she talk to you about what happened between her and Mr. Masterson?
She could not.
Did she tell you why not?
She told me enough so I understood why not.
And what was that you understood?
She had signed an NDA.
Did she tell you any details about what happened?
No, sir. I remember her being terrified, and no, she never told me what happened. (Obj, overruled)
Was there any discussion with regard to supporting each other?
I just really wanted to reach out to her to tell her that I believed her. because I understood when she told people, everyone turned their backs on her.
When you first learned there was another victim, what effect did that have on you?
I felt responsible.
How so?
I felt like maybe I could have, or should have done something. Because why would there be another victim? I felt... I'm sorry... I felt responsible.
At some point you learned of another victim?
Yes, sir.
Was that [Jane Doe 2]?
Yes, sir.
(Putting up a photo of Jane Doe 1) Who is that?
That is [Jane Doe 1].
(Puts up another photo) Who is that?
That is [Jane Doe 2].
Jane Doe 2, did you know her at all during the relationship with Masterson?
Yes, sir.
How did you know her?
I mean, I didn't know her, but she was friends of friends. I believe I had maybe two conversations with her back then. Two times that I can really remember.
You learned of Jane Doe 2 at one point after having a conversation with a person named Mariah O'Brien.
Yes, sir.
Who is she?
She's a friend of the defendant.
How did you know her?
She was a Scientologist. She was married to a lifelong Scientologist, second-generation who we're all friends with.
And Mariah O'Brien, at some point, she responded some things that you had posted on Instagram, some photos?
Yes, sir.
And these were photos...
My kids, my husband. One night she was liking a bunch of my photos and it scared me.
And you reached out to her?
She was liking my photos after I wrote to Scientology and told them I was no longer a Scientologist. I knew she was a lifelong Scientologist and so I thought she was messing with me. So I reached out to her and asked if she was messing with me.
You asked her if she was still a Scientologist?
Yes, sir. She said no.
And you asked her if she was messing with you?
Something like that.
You asked her if she had ever heard of someone accusing Masterson of rape?
I did.
How did that question come into the conversation?
I was just reeling, and I knew she was still close to him, and it just came out of me. When I realized she was no longer a Scientologist it felt safer.
And at that point you were questioning if there were more than just you and JD1?
I just knew about JD1, I wasn't expecting her response.
And she said she did know another person, JD2.
Yes, sir.
And that surprised you?
Yes, sir.
That conversation, when was it?
I believe it was November 2016.
And this was all on Instagram, this exchange?
Yes, sir.
(Mueller marking 16 Instagram pages as a collective exhibit) Can you just go through and say if you recognize the exchange there on Instagram?
These are my messages with her.
And in here there's a discussion about your children?
I believe so.
Among some other things. And then there's a point you ask, can I ask you question and she says sure. And you said, did you ever hear of Danny being accused of rape?
Yes, sir.
These are dated November 18, 2016. Does that sound right?
Yes, sir.
And her response is that "[JD2] said he raped her."
Yes, sir.
And how did that make you feel?
I was really upset.
You reached out to JD2 subsequently, right?
And you told her your incident with Masterson?
My intention to reach out to her was to tell her that I believed her, and that it had happened to me.
Did you tell her the details of what happened to you?
No, sir.
Did she tell you any details?
Just that he raped her.
Was that by phone or through Instagram.
Initially I found her on Instagram and asked to talk to her. She gave me her number and I called her.
After that at some point you went to law enforcement.
Yes, sir.
Did you still think there would be consequences from the church?
Yes, sir. (emotional)
But you did that anyway?
I had to.
Why did you feel you had to?
I felt incredibly responsible. I felt like, I needed, I had to. And I believed that he's incapable of, I believed there would be, or possibly are, other victims. (Obj, overruled, but that testimony is only being admitted for state of mind)
Where did you first go to report?
I didn't even know I could report.
Why's that?
Because I believed that you can't rape your girlfriend. But I found out it was a crime and that I was lied to. So I think the first week of December 2016 I went to the Austin police department.
And how is it you found out you could report and this would be a crime?
I called RAINN, it's a rape and incest hotline.
And what did you ask?
I asked if someone has sex with you when you're unconscious and that person is your boyfriend, is that rape. And they said yes, it was a crime.
Hearing that, what effect did it have on you?
I was just sickened by this organization that pretends to be a religion. I was sickened with myself, that they, I felt betrayed, because I trusted these people.
(Photo of a building, Austin PD) Do you recognize that?
That is the Austin police department, that's where I went.
Did you report what happened with Mr. Masterson?
Yes, sir.
Were you interviewed there.
I remember walking in and there was an officer there, and I said I was there to report a rape. He told me he was going to get me a detective, and then I spoke to a detective. I don't remember his name. I was taken to a back room, I don't think it was an interview room. We were at a table but there was nobody around.
Were you asked questions?
Yes.
Did you answer the questions?
Yes.
DO you know if a report was prepared?
Yes, sir.
What did you tell the person asking the questions?
I couldn't say enough to be certain. I was so scared.
What were you scared of?
Scientology.
Did you have concerns they would find out you were reporting to the Austin PD?
Yes, sir.
What did you think might happen?
What the ethics officer had showed me.
You're talking about the demonstration?
Yes, sir.
Is it fair to say you still believed in Scientology at that time, or no?
No, but certain, I still struggle with certain things like, when something bad happens that I've done something.
Sow hen you were interviewing with the police, you still felt like you pulled it in, you caused this to happen?
To the other girls, yes.
Was it because of finding out about JD1 and JD2 that ultimately caused you to go to the Austin PD?
Yes, sir.
After going to the Austin PD, were you interviewed again by police?
Yes, sir.
Was that the LAPD?
Yes, sir.
Did that involve a Det. Reyes?
Yes, sir.
Where was that done?
The first time she called me in December of 2016, when they received the report from Austin PD. And then she flew out in January of 2017 and we did an interview at the Austin PD, the same building.
(Photo, still shot of a police interview, Jan 17, 2017) Do you recognize that?
Yes, sir. That was my interview with Det. Reyes and her partner.
How did you feel about having this interview?
Really panicked.
Why?
Because I knew what was coming my way. I didn't know how bad it was going to be bad, but I knew it was going to be bad.
You knew what was coming your way, what do you mean?
Being harassed and stalked and terrorized. Me and my family. (Obj, overruled, but being allowed for state of mind)
The detectives would ask you questions about what happened?
Yes, sir.
Was it mostly like that, where the question was asked and then you felt free and open to answer that question, or was it more directed?
I know she would a lot of the time ask a question and sort of answer it for me? And I didn't really know how this went, so I trusted her. So there were times when I thought she was understanding me. It was weird.
You were nervous?
Very. I told her I was having a hard time breathing, I felt like I was going to have a panic attack. For the last seven years I had developed a kind of panic.
And you told them that?
Yes, sir. I told them.
Did you anwer their questions the best you could?
Yes, sir.
And as honest as you could?
Yes, sir.
Did Det. Reyes ever learn of the fact that you and JD1 had communicated?
Yes, sir.
Did she learn you had communicated with JD2?
Yes, sir. Right away I told her that he raped two other girls. And I told the girls I was going to report the rape, and I asked them if I could give their information to law enforcement and they both said yes.
Did she say anything about talking to JD1 or JD2?
Yes, she told me I should not speak with them, because she was going to open up an investigation.
How did you feel about that?
I felt sad, but I stopped talking to them when she told me to.
Was there a time when Det Reyes actually told you to communicate with any witnesses?
Yes, sir. During this interview she asked me if I would be willing to record conversations with Mr. Masterson. He had sent his publicist to reach out to me and kind of threatened me. So started to communicate with her and recorded calls for LAPD. And she told me to record any calls with Scientologists or other people connected to him. (Obj, latter portion stricken.)
When you say publicist, you mean Jennifer Weinman?
Yes, sir.
Did the LAPD provide any equipment to make this recording?
They gave me a phone number. I think they call it pretext phone calls. And to give that number to anyone and it would get routed to my cell phone.
What device were you supposed to be recording it on?
The LAPD would be recording it, but not completely trusting the police from what Scientology taught me about police and the judicial system, I always recorded it on my iPad too.
Did Det Reyes tell you about taking a second recording?
I told law enforcement that I was doing that?
but you weren't asked to do that?
No sir.
So why did you feel the need to do that?
I didn't know if I could trust the LAPD because of their relationship to Scientology. I didn't know if I could trust them.
Were you worried at that point about whether the LAPD would conduct this investigation for your fairly?
Yes, sir.
Did you actually then record calls coming in?
Yes, sir.
Did that include Jennifer Weinman?
Yes, sir.
Anyone else?
I tried to reach out to Miranda Scoggins, and I got her on the phone, and I remember saying my name, do you remember me. And she said, yes, I'm on my way to something can I call you back. And it was like she knew what I was doing and she never called me back. (Obj, partly stricken)
Anyone else?
An old friend, Ryan Gentles, called me.
Did you then provide these calls to Det. Reyes.
She should have had them, but I emailed the calls to, yes I emailed some to her, and also to Det. Vargas.
Det Vargas is who came on later?
Yes, sir.
And in time Det Vargas was the lead detective?
Yes, sir.
Was there any additional conversation about talking with JD1 or JD2?
I know she told me not to speak with them. But she was having me make phone calls, and there was one setup I was speaking to her about, where his publicist kept asking me if I'd spoken to JD1, and I lied to her -- and Det Reyes said I could lie -- and I was able to get his publicist Jenni Weinman to be willing to speak with JD1 so she could record it. But Det Reyes wasn't getting back to us. So I had to talk to JD1 to tell her Weinman was going to call her. And Det Reyes wasn't giving us direction, she said we know what to do, you're doing great. And JD1 was given a pretext number, and she Googled it, and the first page was, "this is an LAPD number, it's a trap, don't call don't call." So we got really concerned.
Did that cause the two of you, you and JD1, to talk about that more?
Yes, sir.
Was concern about the LAPD, was that the topic of conversation?
Yes, sir.
Did this further your concerns that the LAPD would not conduct the investigation properly?
Yes, sir.
So what did you do?
I remember writing a letter to Chief Beck and begging for help. And I remember Det Reyes, said she didn't even file my police report, it was in a vault in her captain's office. With all the weird things going on, no one is going to know I even filed a police report. So I wrote a letter to Chief Beck, and I wrote a letter to an Internal Affairs, or some, and I remember...
Did you get responses?
I got a letter back from Chief Beck. But I hadn't heard anything other than I got a call from Det Vargas that he was assigned to the case to give it fresh eyes. I remember him saying it would be wrapped up in about three weeks.
When he reached out to you, was this after you wrote to Chief Beck?
Did you contact any other law enforcement agencies?
I filed a report with the FBI.
When was that?
I believe in December 2016 or maybe it was January 2017.
When you way you filed a report with the FBI, did you give any details about the incident with Masterson?
Yes, sir.
Why did you go to the FBI?
Things started happening.
You're talking about to you?
To me and my family.
The things you're talking about, did that involve harassment and stalking?
Yes, sir.
When did that begin?
Almost immediately after I filed a police report.
With LAPD?
Yes, sir.
Did the FBI respond or do anything?
The woman I spoke to said she was going to file it, and she said that if they decide to investigate that I wouldn't know. And I don't remember what else.
Subsequent to all this, were there other things that made you question the investigation with the LAPD, other things you wanted them to do?
Yes, sir. I was making all of these recorded phone calls with these really awful people. I was doing all this work and I remember Det Reyes, she called me out of the blue, saying, you can walk away at any time. You don't need to do this, you don't need to put your babies through this. I was really upset, because she spoke to JD1 and I knew JD1 had that NDA and I knew what she had on the line. I said I'm not going to do that. I remember a week later, she said I had to amp up the heat on his publicist and I didn't really understand what that meant. So I gave her [Weinman] a kind of ultimatum. She [Reyes] listened to the recording and said I messed up the case. And I remember I was sobbing.
Did she tell you how you messed up the case?
By giving her [Weinman] an ultimatum. And she had told me time was running out and I didn't know what to do. And when I explained it to her, she said we could have delayed and kept that number a little longer. And I thought time was running out.
What was the ultimatum?
That she [Weinman] needed to have Mr. Masterson call me because I wanted to talk to him. She kept asking what is it that you want. I wanted an explanation on why there's another victim. But my goal from Det Reyes was to record a call with him, and he wasn't calling me. So, I was doing the best I knew how to do.
And he never called?
Correct.
Do you remember telling Reyes some things she needed to follow up on.
Yes sir.
And you gave her names?
Names, numbers.
And you felt that was being mishandled?
Yes, sir. She wasn't calling any of the witnesses I had given her.
How did that make you feel?
Scared and frustrated, and like I had to do something.
Did that further cause you some further distrust of the LAPD?
Yes, sir.
Did you and JD1 talk to one another in order to I guess share your stories?
Our stories about...
About what happened to you.
You mean the rapes?
Yes.
No, sir. Other than I understood he raped her, and she knew he raped me. But details? No, sir.
You knew that JD1 and JD2 were former Scientologists. You were a former Scientologist. You had these incidents with Masterson. What was the effect on you, three former Scientologists all raped by Mr. Masterson.
There was a shared fear. (Stricken) I don't know how...
Did you find support from JD1 and JD2?
Absolutely.
In what way?
I don't feel like anyone could understand, I would never have gone to the police if I were the only one he did this to. I love with all my heart those two girls.
At some point you learned of another victim, Kathy J.
Yes, sir.
Do you remember when that was?
Sorry, I'm trying to say anything...
Oct 16, 2021? Does that sound right.
Yes, sir.
There was a tweet from Kathy J that you received?
Yes, sir.
And Kathy J then informed you that she had also been raped by Mr. Masterson?
Yes, sir.
Subsequent to that did you two exchange any messages?
I believe a couple over Twitter.
A couple?
Yes.
In that exchange, did you provide any details about your incident?
No, sir.
Did she provide you any details?
No, sir. I believe she only said he raped her.
And at that point you encouraged her to contact Det. Vargas?
Yes, sir.
After providing the information to Det Vargas, you didn't speak to her any further after that?
No, sir.
(8 pages, text exchanges, entered as an exhibit). Tell us if you recognize what's on those pages?
These are the messages that she sent me and my responses to her.
And these messages, look like they begin Oct 16, 2021.
Yes, sir.
And this is where Kathy J tells you that Masterson had also raped her at the after party of Dracula 2000.
Yes, sir.
And you told her you knew he was there for that filming.
Yes, sir.
You also tell her the name of Det Vargas to contact.
Yes, sir.
You also tell her she has to be very careful, and that as much as you'd like to tell her, you have to protect the case. That's what you told her here?
Yes, sir.
(Photo of Cedric) Recognize this person?
Yes, sir. That is a good man. That is my husband.
Do you have concerns today about providing testimony?
Yes sir. For myself, for my husband, for our babies.
Do those concerns include harassment, stalking?
Yes, sir.
Have you been experiencing both of those things since coming forward?
Yes, sir.
To today?
Yes, sir.
There was a civil suit that was filed.
Yes, sir.
Do you remember when?
I believe it was 2019.
Against the Church of Scientology and Danny Masterson, and some other names?
The church leader, David Miscavige.
What was the reason for filing that?
To make them stop.
Stop what?
To make them stop their terror campaign on us.
Was this, from you, was this about money?
No, sir.
What was it about?
It was about just so many police reports and FBI reports were filed and nothing was stopping it. And it was just thinking that it would stop them. And we got sent to 'religious arbitration'... (Judge Olmedo stops her, last portion stricken)
Mueller: No further questions.
Judge Olmedo: We will take a five minute break and then go to 12 o'clock with cross examination.
Cohen is asking for an admonition for the jury, and Judge Olmedo says she is going to draft something, regarding the harassment and saying that there's no evidence that Masterson has anything personally to do with harassment. She tells the two sides to work out the language, that it's not a court order.
Now there is only about five minutes for cross, and Holley says she'll wait until after lunch. But then after discussing it with Cohen, she changes her mind and says she'll use the five minutes.
Jane Doe 3 is brought back into the courtroom.
Jury brought back in at 11:57.
Cross-examination of Jane Doe 3 by Shaw Holley
Holley: Good morning.
JD3: Good morning
Holley introduces herself as an attorney for Masterson.
Holley: I just wanted to ask a couple of questions because you said you contacted the FBI.
Yes, ma'am.
And you said you contacted the FBI because you didn't have confidence in the LAPD.
No, that's not the reason.
You contacted them because you were concerned about what was happening to you?
I contacted them for a few reasons.
Is one of the reasons harassment?
Yes, ma'am.
Do you remember speaking with an agent Shannon Welch?
Yes, ma'am.
Did you speak with Agent Welch about your concerns?
I told her about everything that happened.
You were talking about your relationship with Mr. Masterson?
Yes, and the Church of Scientology involvement, to the extent I knew at that point.
On the telephone?
Yes, ma'am.
Was it one conversation?
It was one conversation, I remember there were a lot of phone calls. It was a different number every time she called.
Judge Olmedo calls for the lunch break.
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There is just so much more cohesive narrative in this testimony. It tells a compelling story. I really get a feel for all the overwhelming pressure being brought to bear by scn and masterson and his group on these women. And how bravely they took a stand, that this must be made known and investigated by actual law enforcement and the FBI because those who they had trusted, in scn, were just covering it all up and making the victims somehow the ones in the wrong. Kudos to these brave women and all who have supported them. I hope this trial ferrets out all the ways scientology tried to subvert justice in order to protect their celebrity member.
WOW! What a different picture is painted when COS are allowed into the trial.
Multiple people knew and did nothing and it seems much more info about the lack of response from LAPD