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() — The Church of Scientology released a statement in response to “That ’70s Show” star Danny Masterson’s guilty verdict on rape charges that they have “no policy prohibiting or discouraging members from reporting criminal conduct.”
But former Scientologist official Claire Headley, who testified as an expert witness in the trial, told ’s “Banfield” that Scientology has “decades of history of denying any allegations of wrongdoing.”
“The evidence presented in this trial resulted in a guilty verdict,” Headley said during her first prime-time national television interview Thursday night on “Banfield.”
“There was no delay in reporting these crimes, because they were reported to Scientology.”
Headly has been a whistleblower since 2008 against the Church of Scientology. She worked directly with the head of the church, David Miscavige, for eight years. For four of those years, she was third on their organizational chart.
Masterson could get 30 years to life in prison after a jury found him guilty on two of three counts of rape at his second trial, in which the Church of Scientology played a central role. The jury of seven women and five men reached the verdict after deliberating for seven days spread over two weeks. They could not reach a verdict on the third count, which alleged that Masterson raped a longtime girlfriend. They had voted 8-4 in favor of conviction on that count.
The Church of Scientology released the following statement response to Masterson’s trial.
