Lisa Marie Presley will not testify in Danny Masterson’s rape trial. On Nov. 9, Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller informed LA Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo and the defense that the prosecution would not call Presley to the stand, reported Deadline. Despite being on the witness list for weeks, Judge Olmedo severely limited the scope of the former prominent Scientologist’s testimony yesterday. In 2003, Presley was not allowed to speak on the potential obstruction of justice by the Church of Scientology in the case of the alleged sexual assault of Jane Doe #1 by the That ’70s Show actor. As a result, Presley’s testimony was restricted to what she knew about or did not know about the rape claims directly from her friend Jane Doe #1, which was evidently not worth it for the defense.
According to Masterson’s defense, almost all of Presley’s references to Scientology should be excluded from the trial “because they are not relevant here” and “too vague to be helpful.” Church officials allegedly asked Presley to persuade Jane Doe #1/Jen B not to report the assault to the police. As a result of her interview with the D.A.’s office last week, Presley now says she cannot recall whether Scientology asked her to “smooth things over.” The attorneys for Presley indicated to prosecutors several months ago that their client may take the fifth on the case. After leaving Scientology almost a decade ago, Presley allegedly contacted Jane Doe #1 in 2014 to apologize for not supporting her and her claims against fellow Scientologist Masterson. Under Judge Olmedo’s ruling, Presley’s apology could not be revealed to the jury.
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Other names on the prosecution’s list include Carmen Llywelyn — previously married to My Name Is Earl star Jason Lee — and actress Brie Shaffer, who once worked as Masterson’s assistant. To this day, Llywelyn still experiences nightmares related to her experiences with Scientology. It is also possible that the actress Jordan Ladd and lawyer Marty Singer will be called to the stand to testify. Masterson was arrested by the LAPD in June 2020 and could face 45 years to life if convicted of the three counts of forcible rape. The alleged assaults occurred in the actor’s Hollywood Hills home between 2001 and 2003 and were reported to the police in 2004. In late 2017, Masterson was fired from Netflix’s comedy The Ranch after the rape claims emerged; he has always maintained that sex was consensual.
Since his arrest, Masterson has been free on $3.3 million bail in the criminal case and is also a co-defendant on a paused civil case in which Scientology is a co-defendant. During the hearing on Nov. 8, Judge Olmedo suggested Presley’s testimony might be more appropriate for the harassment and intimidation case. Despite Scientology’s attempts to get the Supreme Court to intervene last month, the civil case will restart in mid-December once Masterson’s criminal trial concludes. This criminal trial is scheduled to end on Nov. 18 and will hear testimony from Jane Doe #4, a non-scientist who claims Masterson raped her in 1996. Jane Doe #1’s mother and LAPD detectives testified on Nov. 8 in the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center’s ninth-floor courtroom. On Nov. 11, the Masterson trial will be closed in observance of Veterans Day.
