Scientology tried to 'derail' star's rape trial by harassing prosecutor, suit says; church calls claim 'false'

Another plaintiff in the case, whose name is not public, alleged that unidentified men were following her in downtown L.A. during the trial. The church has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in that lawsuit, and Masterson dismissed it as an attempt to smear Scientology when it was first filed in 2017.

Masterson was convicted of two counts of rape in May of 2023 and sentenced to 30 years in prison. The count involving Bixler resulted in a hung jury. Masterson has filed an appeal on the other counts. The civil lawsuit remains pending.

A Times review of court documents also found that during the Masterson trial, a longtime Scientology attorney tried to affect the outcome of an unrelated case involving the church in the same courthouse. According to court transcripts, L.A. County prosecutors and the public defender’s office, the church’s lawyer tried to broker a plea deal for a man accused of attacking a Scientology security guard — offering to help negotiate lesser charges, as long as the man said his actions were inspired by a Scientology critic.

Pouw called the allegations against the church “delusional” and “biased” against Scientology.

“The entire story is a work of fiction; it is the Church that is being harassed and it is the Church that is being subjected to false allegations,” she said.

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The initial rape case against Masterson ended in a mistrial, and Mueller recounted in his award acceptance speech that concerns about Scientology were a constant before it reached a courtroom.

He spoke about bringing a colleague onto the case and said, “I felt it was important to let her know this was the Church of Scientology and they have a strong influence in this case. They’ve had a big impact on these victims and I wanted her to have a heads up that there may be some shenanigans … some harassment, stalking, retaliation, those things might be a possibility.”

Two other attorneys declined to sit second chair in the case for fear of church interference, Mueller said in the video, before Deputy District Attorney Ariel Anson took the job.

Anson declined to be interviewed for this story. Mueller was the only prosecutor known to have alleged any harassment.

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