Judge rejects Danny Masterson's request for bail, citing flight risk

Judge Charlaine Olmedo noted Masterson's lengthy 30-year sentence and divorce proceedings in her order

By Gabriella Ferrigine

Published January 25, 2024 2:02PM (EST)

Actor Danny Masterson is arraigned on three rape charges in separate incidents in 2001 and 2003, at Los Angeles Superior Court, Los Angeles, California, September 18, 2020. (LUCY NICHOLSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Actor Danny Masterson is arraigned on three rape charges in separate incidents in 2001 and 2003, at Los Angeles Superior Court, Los Angeles, California, September 18, 2020. (LUCY NICHOLSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has shot down actor Danny Masterson's request for bail, claiming that he could have "every incentive to flee" if released from prison, per HuffPost. “If defendant’s conviction and sentence are upheld on appeal, he will likely remain in custody for decades and perhaps the rest of his life,” wrote Judge Charlaine Olmedo in a Wednesday court order, according to HuffPost. “In light of the fact that defendant has no wife to go home to, defendant now has every incentive to flee and little reason to return to state prison to serve out the remainder of his lengthy sentence should his appeal be unsuccessful,” Olmedo added, alluding to the divorce proceedings currently underway between Masterson and his wife, Bijou Phillips.

Masterson, known for his role on sitcom "That '70s Show" in which he starred alongside Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison in September after being found guilty of raping two women in his Hollywood Hills home in 2003. In December, Masterson was transferred to North Kern State Prison in California after being previously detained at the Los Angeles County jail.