Danny Masterson may have limited access to the outside world after being transferred to North Kern State Prison in Delano, California, to continue serving his 30-year prison sentence. But his legal team has continued its attempts to have that conviction overturned. It seems that the That ‘70s Show actor will remain behind bars for the duration of the appeals process, after a judge denied a request for bail, citing the actor as a flight risk.
The actor was found guilty in May 2023 of raping two women in the early 2000s, with the verdict coming after a years-long investigation into allegations from multiple women. His decades-long sentence was handed down in September, and per documents obtained by Deadline, the length of the sentence apparently played into Judge Charlaine Olmedo’s decision to deny Danny Masterson bond pending appeal. Olmedo wrote in a court order January 24:
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. 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.
In addition to the 30 years Danny Masterson has been sentenced to — his parole eligibility date is listed as June 2042 on the California Incarcerated Records and Information Search database — the Los Angeles Superior Court judge also referred to Masterson’s ongoing divorce proceedings with Bijou Phillips as another reason to keep him locked up.
Bijou Phillips, who married The Ranch star in 2011, filed for divorce from Danny Masterson in September, citing “irreconcilable differences.” Phillips’ lawyer said this process has been “unimaginably hard” for the actress, whose top priority remains her and Masterson’s 9-year-old daughter Fianna.
Her wishes to move forward came even as the actor’s lawyers expressed confidence that they would be successful in their appeal of the convictions. Following Danny Masterson’s sentencing, his lawyer Shawn Holley said the team had identified “a number of significant evidentiary and constitutional issues” that “led to verdicts which are not supported by the evidence.”
The decision to keep the actor, who famously played Steven Hyde on That ‘70s Show, in prison as they continue to work on supporting the above claims was possibly tough for him to hear, considering what the first months of his stay entail.
Danny Masterson was transferred from L.A. Men’s County Jail to the North Kern facility in late December 2023. The reception and classification process — which reportedly can take up to 90 days — dictates that inmates can receive only one phone call per month. Masterson also can have no family visits or use of his personal property during this time, and has only limited access to entertainment. After the reception process, he will receive full prison privileges at the medium-security facility, and due to the judge’s rejection of his bond request, it seems that’s where he’ll remain for a long time.
