A Los Angeles detective who investigated actor Danny Masterson for alleged rape warned the actor’s three accusers not to speak with each other or the media, and was astounded when their allegations surfaced in the press.
Thursday, Detective Esther Reyes, a 29-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department, told a judge that she was adamant that the three avoid actions that may “damage or contaminate” the police investigation into their cases against the Scientologist and actress.
Three women, identified as Jane Does 1, 2, and 3, accuse Masterson, 46, of committing rapes in his Hollywood Hills residence between 2001 and 2003.
According to the women, he allegedly plied them with alcohol prior to assaulting them and sometimes attacked them while they were unconscious. One claimed that Scientology representatives exerted pressure on her not to report the crimes to the police.
Masterson refutes their accusations.
After being interviewed by Reyes in 2017, all three defendants admitted in court that they communicated with one another.
Reyes told the court on Thursday that she had warned all three not to communicate with each other or other potential witnesses.
Philip Cohen, the attorney for Masterson, questioned Reyes about ‘cross contamination’ in an investigation.
She added that if alleged victims or witnesses communicate with one another, “their recollections may change because they have spoken with one another.”
Reyes concurred with Cohen that autonomy is crucial.
She stated, ‘It is essential to obtain a witness’s independent memory that has not been altered in any way by speaking with other witnesses.’
She stated that she was concerned about the potential ‘harm’ to her investigation if the three accusers discussed the issue with one another.
Reyes told the court that she instructed Jane Does 1 through 3 not to speak to the press or media during the investigation; however, she later discovered that “information had been released to the press by one or more of the Jane Does.”
The actress then told the court she was shocked when Jane Doe 2 told her about the night in late 2003 when the actor allegedly raped her in his shower and bedroom.
“It was a difficult conversation,” said blonde-haired Ladd, 47, who has been intermittently friendly with fellow actress Jane Doe 2 for more than two decades, since since the two appeared in a film together.
She disclosed to me that she had been the victim of what I identified as date rape.
She appeared agitated and was literally trembling. Emotional, her voice trembled as she spoke.
She claimed to have had sexual relations with Danny Masterson, but she kept saying “no” and “I don’t want to do this” repeatedly.
She reported that he did not stop, so she gave up.
Ladd responded, “I was astonished,” when Deputy District Attorney Ariel Anson inquired about her reaction to her friend’s news. I felt powerless and speechless.
She emphatically stated, “Do not tell anyone.” She appeared fearful and puzzled.
She obstinately silenced me and was scared that I might say something to another person.
Ladd, who has appeared in a number of Hollywood horror films, stated that she had been “very friendly” with Masterson before to the Jane Doe 2 episode.
The following summer, though, she was in the wedding party alongside Masterson, and she remarked, “He was pretty cold and icy to me.”
Masterson’s attorney, Ladd, who is not a Scientologist, testified under Cohen’s cross-examination that during her talk with Jane Doe 2 about the alleged rape, she expressed concern about contracting a sexually transmitted illness since Masterson had not worn a condom.
“She was humiliated,” she added.
Cohen asked Ladd if Jane Doe 2 stated it was her idea to shower with Masterson. Ladd responded, “No.”
And when Cohen questioned her if Jane Doe 2 had told her, even after the incident, that she and Masterson were likely to begin dating, she said, “No.”
A few days after the 2003 event with Masterson, Jane Doe 2 spoke with her mother, who was a Scientologist at the time.
The elderly lady fought back tears as she recounted the chat with her daughter on Thursday.
“She was quite distressed,” her mother stated.
She reported that he was relentlessly approaching her from behind like a jackhammer, despite her repeated requests for him to stop.
Anson asked her mother if she ever used the word ‘rape’ in that conversation. Her mother responded, ‘Not that I recall. I recall her stating that she was being pummeled.
Jane Doe 2’s mother, when cross-examined by Cohen, denied that her daughter still desired a love relationship with the actor after the sex encounter at Masterson’s home.
She continued, “I recall her stating she wanted a date, but it turned out to be something very else.”
Masterson, a married man with an eight-year-old kid, has pleaded not guilty to all allegations.
If convicted, the star of That ’70s Show faces a sentence of 45 years to life in jail.
Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of Elvis Presley, is on the witness list as a former Scientologist.
Masterson remains an active member of the Church while his three accusers were all Scientologists.
Masterson, who has been free on $3.3 million bond since his arrest in June 2020, arrived at the court in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday for the tenth day of his trial, dressed in a gray jacket, beige slacks, off-white shirt, and gray striped tie.
His accusers, whom DailyMail.com identifies only as Jane Does 1 through 3, are all former Scientologists and are suing him and the Church of Scientology in civil court, alleging that they have been harassed, followed, and intimidated since reporting him to police.