Prosecutor in Danny Masterson rape case says Scientology official told accuser she did something in this life or another life to deserve assault

• Opening arguments began this week in actor Danny Masterson's Los Angeles rape trial.
• The Church of Scientology — to which Masterson belongs — took center stage on Tuesday.

Scientology took center stage during opening arguments in actor Danny Masterson's rape trial this week, despite previous efforts by the defense to keep the organization out of court proceedings.

Arguments in the "That 70s Show" actor's Los Angeles trial began Tuesday as county prosecutors detailed three women's assault accusations against Masterson. While the trial will primarily center on the accusers' rape allegations, Masterson is a longtime member of the Church of Scientology and the organization is already proving to be an outsized presence in the case.

In June 2019, Masterson's ex-girlfriend Chrissie Carnell Bixler and three other women filed a lawsuit accusing Masterson of sexually assaulting them between 2001 and 2003. The accounts in the civil lawsuit led to the criminal charges filed by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office in 2020.

Masterson and his legal team have denied the allegations, calling them "outrageous" and he has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges.

In a statement to Insider, a representative for the Church of Scientology rejected much of the prosecution's Tuesday arguments.

"The Church is not part of the proceeding in question, notwithstanding the apparent intent of the District Attorney to shamefully center his prosecution on Mr. Masterson's religion," Karin Pouw, the international spokesperson for the organization, said.

The Church of Scientology is not on trial, but the extent to which Scientology can be invoked throughout the trial has already been bitterly contested by the opposing legal teams. Previously, Judge Charlaine Olmedo granted both sides wins in pretrial proceedings by rejecting the prosecution's bid to include expert testimony on church concepts and denying Masterson's attorney's attempt to bar any mention of the church from the trial.

In opening arguments on Tuesday, LA Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller argued that Scientology undoubtedly played a role in the incidents being litigated: At least two women say they avoided reporting their experiences to the police because of internal Scientology processes and intimidation, the prosecution argued on Tuesday.

'Pulling it in'

One of these women, identified as Jane Doe 2, or Christina B., said she met and began dating Masterson around 1995, and soon after moved in with the actor and became a member of Scientology, Mueller said.

"Things were great for a while, but a year into her relationship, things began to change," Mueller said in court on Tuesday. The actor, who was starring on "That 70s Show" at the time, became controlling and sexually aggressive, according to Mueller, who said Christina "often woke up with Masterson on top of her."

In December 2021, Christina said she woke up one night to Masterson pinning her down and raping her, Mueller said.

She alleged that she grabbed his hair and pulled hard to try and stop the alleged assault, but Masterson, according to Christina, had a "no touch hair, no touch face" rule, and slapped her across the face. He then got off of her, spit in her face, and called her "white trash," according to prosecutors.

In another December 2001 incident, Christina said she and Masterson went out to dinner and she had two glasses of wine. She alleged that she lost consciousness and woke up the next morning with "her whole body" hurting, Mueller said.

Mueller said Masterson "laughed at Christina and told her had sex with her, had anal sex with her while she was unconscious."

Christina said she was "traumatized" by the incident and reported it to the Church of Scientology the next day, telling her ethics officer at Scientology's Celebrity Center about the alleged assault, Mueller said.

But her ethics officer, according to prosecutors, told Christina that as Masterson's romantic partner, she could not be raped. "Don't ever use that word again," she said she was told.

The church official then told Christina that she must have done something to "pull in" the alleged attack, according to prosecutors. Mueller in court said the term "pulling in" is a common Scientology phrase meaning that someone did something in this life or another life to deserve the painful experience.

Puow, however, told Insider that the term has no connection to Scientology.

Christina did not report Masterson to law enforcement because he was considered an "upstaff," or someone who brought in money for the church, she said, per Mueller.

"She believed Scientology and that she pulled it in, and that it was not rape," Mueller said.

Pouw rejected the prosecution's version of events in a statement to Insider, saying the church did not discourage anyone from reporting alleged crimes or instruct members not to report alleged crimes.

"The Church has no policy prohibiting or discouraging members from reporting criminal conduct of Scientologists, or of anyone, to law enforcement," she said. "Quite the opposite. Church policy explicitly demands Scientologists abide by all laws of the land."