'The Ranch' Star Danny Masterson Charged With 'Forcibly Raping 3 Women'

Actor Danny Masterson has been officially charged with rape. The Ranch star was brought in on charges of "forcibly raping three women" between 2001 and 2003. The announcement came Wednesday from Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey.

According to official court documents, Masterson is accused of raping a 23-year-old woman between January and December of 2001. In April 2003, the actor allegedly raped a 28-year-old woman and sometime between October and December. That same year, he's accused of raping a 23-year-old woman who he had invited to his Hollywood Hills home. If found guilty, he could be facing a maximum sentence of 45 years to life in state prison.

The document also noted that the D.A.'s Office declined to file sexual assault charges in two other cases. One was cited as having insufficient evidence, while the other based on an expired statute of limitations for the accusation. The charges come after numerous allegations have been made against Masterson, which caused him to be written off the hit Netflix sitcom. The arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 18 at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles. As of Wednesday, the actor has yet to comment on the charges brought against him.

These charges come in addition to the lawsuit filed against Masterson and the Church of Scientology, which was filed by four women who cited multiple incidents of being followed, having their homes watched and their property damaged. It also alleges that these actions were done in retaliation after each of the four had gone public with rape claims against the actor, who is himself a Scientologist.

In the wake of the filing, Masterson had asked a judge to throw out the case based on a lack of specificity, even calling it a "shameful money grab" by a group of his ex-girlfriends. He also asked that a judge force two of the accusers, who had been anonymous, to disclose their names publicly and publicly state what they claim he did wrong, accusing their current claims of being far too general.

One of Masterson's accusers, Chrissie Carnell-Bixler, had also accused the actor and the church of poisoning her dog as a means of retaliation. She began dating the actor in 1996 and eventually moved in together. During that time, Carnell-Bixler claimed that Masterson would regularly force her to have sex with him and "became violent" if she refused to do so.