Danny Masterson under 24/7 mental health surveillance behind bars after sentencing for two rapes
Danny Masterson is under 24/7 surveillance behind bars following his 30-year prison sentence for raping two women at the height of his “That ’70s Show” fame.
Masterson, 47, is being monitored for signs of mental distress as he sits in the Los Angeles County Men’s Central Jail while awaiting transfer to a California state prison, police sources told TMZ.
His surveillance includes around-the-clock video monitoring, along with cell checks by prison guards every 30 minutes.
Should he show any signs of dangerous mental distress, he would be immediately transferred for a medical exam, sources said.
Despite the cautionary measures, Masterson’s attorney Shawn Holley told TMZ that he is mentally sound and confident he will win an appeal.
Masterson was sentenced to a pair of 15-year prison terms to be served consecutively on Thursday, after being found guilty of the 2003 rapes of two women at his Hollywood-area home.
Both victims testified the actor gave them drugged drinks, then violently raped them once they passed out.
Prosecutors said Masterson used his status as a celebrity and within the Church of Scientology to avoid accountability for years.
His victims testified that when they reported the rapes to Scientology officials, they were told they had not been raped, and were advised not to report anything to the police because of Masterson’s high-ranking position within the church.
Masterson did not testify at his trial but has denied any wrongdoing.
His defense argued that the sexual interactions with the victims were consensual, and that they conspired to smear the famous actor.
Though Masterson’s attorney suggests he is in a strong mental position, reports have said his wife, Bijou Phillips, 43, is a “shell” of herself following the sentence.
“Bijou is circling the drain and is filled with all the emotion and no emotion at all,” a source reportedly told the Daily Mail.
“They had their life, and it has been completely uprooted and changed. And change is as scary and miserable as one would imagine.”
The couple share a 9-year-old daughter, for whom Philips is reportedly “trying to be strong.”
