{"id":132953,"date":"2023-10-30T17:45:28","date_gmt":"2023-10-30T17:45:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/?p=132953"},"modified":"2023-10-30T17:45:28","modified_gmt":"2023-10-30T17:45:28","slug":"scientology-hits-back-at-danny-masterson-accusers-harassment-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/world-news\/scientology-hits-back-at-danny-masterson-accusers-harassment-lawsuit\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientology hits back at Danny Masterson accusers&apos; harassment lawsuit"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>EXCLUSIVE: Scientology slams harassment lawsuit filed by Danny Masterson&#8217;s accusers as &#8216;meritless&#8217; and &#8216;false&#8217;\u00a0<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><span>In court filings obtained by DailyMail.com the Church of Scientology argued that the civil lawsuit omit &#8216;critical facts demonstrating that their claims are meritless&#8217;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>The case was filed in 2019 by four victims \u2013 proven and alleged \u2013 who claimed they were harassed and intimidated after reporting Danny Masterson for rape\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>In its response, the church claimed some of the accusers had no &#8216;independent corroborative evidence&#8217; or could prove they &#8216;reasonably feared&#8217; for their safety<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Church of Scientology has launched a massive counter attack against a lawsuit brought by convicted rapist\u00a0\u00a0Danny Masterson&#8217;s four accusers who claimed they were stalked, harassed, and threatened by the church after coming forward with their allegations.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In a barrage of new filings at Los Angeles Superior Court obtained by DailyMail.com, the church&#8217;s team of lawyers vehemently denied the accusations calling them &#8216;meritless&#8217; and &#8216;blatantly false&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>The onslaught comes a month after Judge Upinder Kalra, at the urging of the accusers&#8217; lawyers, lifted a stay on the civil case that had been in place since it was filed in August 2019.<\/p>\n<p>The case was put on hold to await the outcome of the Scientologist\u00a0actor&#8217;s criminal rape trial \u2013 which resulted in\u00a0two convictions and a 30 years to life prison sentence last month.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/30\/15\/77176663-12688643-Danny_Masterson_s_four_accusers_proven_and_alleged_had_also_sued-a-2_1698680967282.jpg\" height=\"912\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Danny Masterson&#8217;s four accusers \u2013 proven and alleged \u2013 sued the Church in Scientology in 2019 claiming they were harassed and intimidated after publicly accusing him of rape\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/30\/15\/77176603-12688643-Two_of_the_women_were_later_identified_as_Masterson_s_ex_girlfri-a-3_1698680967289.jpg\" height=\"496\" width=\"306\"><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/30\/15\/77176601-12688643-Masterson_s_ex_girlfriend_Marie_Bobette_Riales-a-4_1698680967395.jpg\" height=\"496\" width=\"306\"><\/p>\n<p>Two of the women were later identified as Masterson&#8217;s ex-girlfriends, Chrissie Carnell Bixler (left) and Marie Bobette Riales. The two other remain anonymous, known as Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/30\/15\/76896567-12688643-New_court_documents_obtained_by_DailyMail_com_show_the_Church_of-a-6_1698680967514.jpg\" height=\"418\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>New court documents obtained by DailyMail.com show the Church of Scientology has now\u00a0launched a counter attack against the women, following Masterson&#8217;s conviction<\/p>\n<p>The civil lawsuit against the That &#8217;70s Show actor \u2013 which also names the Church of Scientology and its leader, David Miscavige \u2013 was brought by four women \u2013 who say Masterson drugged and raped them.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Two of the women named in the suit were Masterson&#8217;s ex-girlfriends \u2013 Chrissie Bixler, 45, and Bobette Riales, 42 \u2013 while the other two are listed as Jane Does 1 and 2.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Masterson was ultimately charged with raping three women but was only convicted of raping Jane Does 1 and 2 in the criminal case.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The jury could not reach a verdict on Jane Doe 3 \u2013 who was revealed to be Bixler. He was never charged with raping Riales.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>According to the civil lawsuit: &#8216;When those women came forward to report Masterson&#8217;s crimes the defendants conspired to and systematically stalked, harassed, invaded their and their family&#8217;s privacy, and intentionally caused them emotional distress to silence and intimidate them.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/30\/15\/76896583-12688643-Scientology_leader_David_Miscavige_was_named_as_a_defendant_alon-a-5_1698680967408.jpg\" height=\"412\" width=\"306\"><\/p>\n<p>Scientology leader David Miscavige was named as a defendant alongside Masterson in the civil suit<\/p>\n<p>Lawyers for Scientology and Masterson opposed lifting the stay on the case, arguing that it should be delayed at least until his criminal appeal is resolved.<\/p>\n<p>Bur after Judge Kalra turned down that argument and scheduled the case for a trial in September 2025, the attorneys\u00a0 launched their aggressive counter offensive against the four women, calling for large parts of their testimony to be stricken and rejected by the judge.<\/p>\n<p>The accusers &#8216;make many allegations that unquestionably involve acts of free speech by the Church defendants&#8217;, blasted Scientology&#8217;s lawyers.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Moreover\u2026.the allegations leave out critical facts demonstrating that their claims are meritless.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>One of the cornerstones of the lawsuit is that the three ex-Scientologist accusers \u2013 Riales was never a Scientologist \u2013 waited up to 20 years to report Masterson for rape because they feared retribution from Scientology, which they say had a strict doctrine forbidding church members from reporting crimes by fellow Scientologists to the police.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/30\/16\/77181871-12688643-In_a_barrage_of_new_filings_at_Los_Angeles_Superior_Court_obtain-m-4_1698683836956.jpg\" height=\"553\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>In a barrage of new documents filed at Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by DailyMail.com, the church&#8217;s legal team vehemently denied the accusations calling them &#8216;meritless&#8217; and &#8216;blatantly false&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/30\/15\/77176035-12688643-Danny_Masterson_and_ex_girlfriend_Bobette_Riales_The_actor_was_n-a-1_1698680967280.jpg\" height=\"445\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Danny Masterson and ex-girlfriend Bobette Riales. The actor was never charged for sexually assaulting Riales but she is a plaintiff in the civil case filed against the church in 2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/30\/16\/77176137-12688643-Danny_Masterson_s_ex_girlfriend_Chrissie_Bixler_accused_the_chur-a-1_1698683787532.jpg\" height=\"1124\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Danny Masterson&#8217;s ex-girlfriend Chrissie Bixler accused the church of poisoning and killing her dogs in retaliation for speaking out against the actor\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Church attorneys attacked that contention in their new court documents, calling it a &#8216;blatant&#8217; misinterpretation of Church practices and adding, &#8216;Church doctrine does not prohibit persons from reporting crimes.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>As for the women&#8217;s allegations that they&#8217;ve been threatened and intimidated by other Scientologists, the attorneys maintained that none of the named people accused of making the threats was an &#8216;agent&#8217; of the Church, nor had they ever worked for the Church.<\/p>\n<p>The Scientology attorneys blasted the alleged victims&#8217; claim that any member who leaves the Church or goes against its rules, is &#8216;fair game&#8217; for harassment.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;There is no doctrine of &#8220;fair game&#8221; within the Scientology religion,&#8217; they said.<\/p>\n<p>They hit out at the four accusers for &#8216;spreading falsehoods,&#8217; and &#8216;misquoting religious Scientology texts&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>And they insisted that Scientology teachings are &#8216;protected by a constitutional right to free speech&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>The Church&#8217;s legal team argued that some of the accusers had no &#8216;independent corroborative evidence&#8217; or could prove that they &#8216;reasonably feared&#8217; for their safety.<\/p>\n<p>Nor could they prove that Scientology had &#8216;made a credible threat&#8217;, the attorneys added.<\/p>\n<p>All four women in the lawsuit maintain that after they reported Masterson \u2013 a big-shot in the Church of Scientology who has now been excommunicated \u2013 to law enforcement, they became victims of a harassment and intimidation campaign orchestrated by the Church.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/30\/14\/76892811-12688643-The_disgraced_actor_pictured_in_court_in_2020_is_currently_servi-a-15_1698675956552.jpg\" height=\"425\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The disgraced actor (pictured in court in 2020)\u00a0 is currently serving a 30-year sentence behind bars after being found guilty last month of raping two women<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/30\/16\/76892483-12688643-Danny_Masterson_was_supported_by_wife_Bijou_Phillips_throughout_-m-8_1698682956406.jpg\" height=\"508\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Danny Masterson was supported by wife Bijou Phillips throughout his trial. However she has now filed for divorce and he has been booted from the Church of Scientology<\/p>\n<p>In her report to cops, Bixler said her dog mysteriously died. An autopsy determined the dog &#8216;died of unexplained traumatic injuries to her trachea and esophagus&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>Bixler also claimed that she was run off the road by a car that had been following her.<\/p>\n<p>And she accused one of Masterson&#8217;s friends of threatening to release nude photos of her taken when she was underage.<\/p>\n<p>Riales claimed that after she reported Masterson for alleged rape, she experienced threats to silence her, including being followed, watched and having her trash stolen.<\/p>\n<p>She told of a neighbor who saw a man in her driveway taking pictures and chased him away, but then added that her 13-year-old child&#8217;s bedroom window was smashed.<\/p>\n<p>Jane Doe 1 said that after she reported Masterson to LAPD the Church of Scientology &#8216;mobilized against&#8217; her.<\/p>\n<p>Jane Doe 2 claimed her phone and computer have been hacked, her car was vandalized and she received harassment on social media.<\/p>\n<p>And she said that she &#8216;rarely left the house&#8217; in the two years after reporting her sexual assault to law enforcement.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Lawyers for Masterson and Scientology will get a chance to voice their opposition to the four women&#8217;s lawsuit at the next hearing in the case, scheduled for November 22.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-12688643\/Scientology-responds-harassment-lawsuit-Danny-Masterson-rape-accusers.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>EXCLUSIVE: Scientology slams harassment lawsuit filed by Danny Masterson&#8217;s accusers as &#8216;meritless&#8217; and &#8216;false&#8217;\u00a0 In court filings obtained by DailyMail.com&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Scientology hits back at Danny Masterson accusers&amp;apos; 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