Overview
- A state appellate panel issued an 89-page opinion that rejected nearly all of Masterson’s claims on appeal and left his May 2023 convictions and September 2023 30‑years‑to‑life sentence intact.
- The judges ruled the trial court properly admitted testimony about the Church of Scientology to explain why the victims delayed reporting and how they interacted with Masterson, and they said those questions did not require the jury to decide church doctrine.
- The panel also turned down defense arguments that the trial judge showed bias against Scientology, that prosecutors delayed charges improperly, and that other evidentiary rulings warranted reversal.
- Masterson remains imprisoned at California Men’s Colony and his lawyers say they will pursue further state and federal appeals; prosecutors previously declined to retry a third rape count after a jury deadlocked in the retrial.
- Victim testimony and impact statements played a central role at trial and sentencing, where the judge ordered lifetime sex‑offender registration, and a related 2019 civil suit alleging post‑reporting harassment involving the Church of Scientology remains pending in the record.