Judge Olmedo will allow all three Jane Does to give victim statements at Masterson sentencing

This morning, Judge Charlaine Olmedo ruled that all three Jane Doe victims can give impact statements at Danny Masterson’s September 7 sentencing.

We had an observer in the courtroom who told us that Masterson was not in court today, and his attorney Shawn Holley was calling in on Webex. Prosecutors Reinhold Mueller and Ariel Anson were in the courtroom.

Masterson was convicted by a jury of two counts of forcible rape on May 31. The jury could not reach a verdict on a third count. (An initial trial last fall had ended in a hung jury on all three counts.) Masterson is being held at the Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles while he’s awaiting the sentencing.

Judge Charlaine Olmedo asked Mueller to give the People's argument about who should be able to give victim impact statements on Sept 7.

Mueller argued that not only should all three Jane Doe victims give statements, but also that the two additional "prior bad acts" witnesses who testified — Tricia Vessey in the first trial and Kathleen Jenkins in the second — should also be able to speak.

He also argued that Bobette Riales, another alleged victim who the prosecution chose not to call to the witness stand, should also be able to give a statement. (Bobette is one of the four women, along with the three Jane Does, who are suing Masterson and Scientology in a separate civil case.)

Mueller argued that giving such statements would be healing for the women and would also be useful for the public in order to encourage other women who may be hesitant to report such a crime.

When it was Holley's turn, she said that she didn't realize the two sides would be presenting arguments and that if she had known it, she and her co-counsel Philip Cohen would have been in court. She asked Judge Olmedo to postpone the matter to next week so they could address the issue properly. But she did indicate that the defense would be opposed to anyone other than Jane Doe 1 and 2 giving statements, as those were the counts that Masterson was convicted on.

Judge Olmedo said that the defense could be heard next week, but she had researched case law and was prepared to make a ruling.

She said that Marsy's Law suggested to her that all three Jane Does have rights in this situation and can give impact statements, but she denied that the others could.

She did set a date of August 21 for another hearing so the defense can be heard on this issue, and to argue whether Jane Doe 3's count, which the jury hung on, would be dismissed with or without prejudice. (The prosecution is asking that it be dismissed without prejudice so that it could be prosecuted in the future if circumstances change.)

And one other issue, Holley indicated that they have changed their minds and they do want Masterson interviewed by the probation department ahead of his sentencing, but not about the facts of the case.

The date of September 7 for the actual sentencing was again affirmed. Judge Olmedo said she would be in trial but had set aside half a day for it.

---

Want to help?

You can support the Underground Bunker with a Paypal contribution to bunkerfund@tonyortega.org, an account administered by the Bunker’s attorney, Scott Pilutik. And by request, this is our Venmo link, and for Zelle, please use (tonyo94 AT gmail).

---

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

Here’s the link to today’s post at tonyortega.org

And whatever you do, subscribe to this Substack so you get our breaking stories and daily features right to your email inbox every morning.

Paid subscribers get access to two special podcast series every week…

Up the Bridge: A weekly journey through Scientology’s actual “technology”

Group Therapy: Our round table of rowdy regulars on the week’s news