Where Is Danny Masterson Now? Prison, Appeals, and Civil Suit

Danny Masterson is incarcerated at the California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo, serving a 30-years-to-life sentence after his May 2023 convictions on two counts of forcible rape. Where Danny Masterson is now, in short: a medium- and minimum-security state prison, with no parole eligibility until at least 2042 and two separate post-conviction challenges pending in the California courts.

Current Prison and How He Got There

Masterson was moved through three facilities in under two months before landing where he is today. After sentencing, he was held in the Los Angeles area, then transferred to North Kern State Prison in Delano in late December 2023. On January 29, 2024, he was moved to Corcoran State Prison, a maximum-security facility, and placed in its highest-security unit for his own protection. He stayed there only about two weeks. On February 16, 2024, he was transferred to the California Men’s Colony. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said the move was prompted by concerns for “the inmate’s well-being” and declined to say more.¹²

The California Men’s Colony houses medium- and minimum-security inmates and offers academic and vocational education, along with programs in cognitive behavioral therapy, substance abuse education, anger management, and family relationships. The facility has a notably low-slung perimeter fence, and reports have noted long-standing problems with contraband being thrown over it.²

When He Could Be Released

Masterson will not be eligible for parole until at least 2042, roughly 25 years after his sentencing. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has set a tentative consultation with parole officials for May 2038, but any actual release would come no sooner than four years after that meeting. Parole eligibility is contingent on good behavior and can be affected by court orders, changes in law, or routine audits.²

What He Was Convicted Of

A Los Angeles jury found Masterson guilty in May 2023 of raping two women at his Hollywood Hills home between 2001 and 2003. The victims were identified in court as Jane Doe #1 and Jane Doe #2. A third count involving a third accuser ended in a deadlocked jury and was later dismissed.³

The conviction came at a second trial. His first ended in a mistrial on November 30, 2022, when jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict on any of the three charges, with the jury leaning toward acquittal across all counts.⁴ The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office retried the case, and the jury returned guilty verdicts on two counts in May 2023.⁵

On September 7, 2023, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo imposed the maximum sentence: two consecutive 15-year-to-life terms, totaling 30 years to life. Masterson was also required to register as a sex offender. Prosecutors had sought the maximum; the defense had argued for concurrent sentences that would have produced a single 15-years-to-life term.⁶⁷

The Appeals Still in Play

Direct Appeal

Masterson is pursuing a direct appeal before California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal. His appellate attorney, Cliff Gardner, delivered oral arguments to a three-judge panel on June 25, 2026. The core argument: the trial court should have let jurors hear that the accusers had a financial motive to secure a conviction. Under California law, a forcible rape conviction involving multiple victims revives the expired civil statute of limitations, giving accusers a one-year window to sue for damages. The defense says the jury should have been told.⁸

Gardner also challenged the trial judge’s refusal to allow subpoenas for text messages between the accusers, saying the messages would show coordinated accounts. Prosecutors called the financial-motive theory “speculative, confusing and irrelevant” and described the subpoena requests as an “overbroad fishing expedition.”⁸

After oral arguments, the court ordered additional briefing tied to an amicus brief from the Church of Scientology, with deadlines running into late July 2026. A decision is due by October 24, 2026.⁹

Habeas Corpus Petition

On a separate track, Masterson’s attorney Eric Multhaup filed a habeas corpus petition on November 17, 2025. It raises eight claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, alleging that trial attorney Philip Cohen failed to call 18 of 20 potential defense witnesses. Those uncalled witnesses, the petition says, included people who would have testified that the accusers spoke favorably of their sexual relationships with Masterson, as well as pharmacological and psychological experts on how drugs and alcohol affect memory.¹⁰

The petition also alleges judicial bias, claiming Judge Olmedo permitted an “unconstitutional intrusion” into Church of Scientology doctrine, and prosecutorial misconduct connected to what the defense calls “the prosecution’s excessive entanglement with Leah Remini,” arguing that Remini had a financial stake in the case because her series Scientology and the Aftermath stood to gain credibility from a conviction. The filing came with 65 exhibits the defense says show evidence of innocence that was never presented at trial. No ruling has issued on the habeas petition.⁹

The Civil Suit Against Him

Masterson also remains a defendant in a civil lawsuit filed in 2019 by Chrissie Carnell Bixler, her husband Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Marie Bobette Riales, and two anonymous accusers. The plaintiffs allege they were “systematically stalked” after reporting rape allegations to police, describing surveillance, threatening messages, hacking, credit card fraud, and, in the Bixlers’ case, the killing of their dog. The suit names both Masterson and the Church of Scientology.¹¹

The Church of Scientology tried to force the claims into religious arbitration, but a California appeals court ruled in January 2022 that former members who had left the church could not be compelled into a “religious forum,” writing that “the Constitution forbids a price that high.”¹² In May 2026, the California Court of Appeal largely rejected the Church’s attempt to dismiss the suit under the state’s anti-SLAPP law, striking two minor allegations but allowing the stalking and emotional distress claims to proceed to trial.¹³ The Church has called the harassment allegations “categorically false.”

Divorce and His Daughter

Masterson’s wife, actress Bijou Phillips, filed for divorce roughly two weeks after his sentencing in mid-September 2023, citing irreconcilable differences. Masterson agreed to give Phillips full legal and physical custody of their daughter, Fianna, while requesting visitation. A judge has since changed both parties’ marital status to “single.”¹⁴ In October 2025, Phillips filed to change their daughter’s surname from Masterson to Phillips. The request was awaiting judicial approval.¹⁵

1
USA Today. Danny Masterson Transferred Medium Security Prison Mens Colony
2
Deadline. Danny Masterson Prison Parole
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ABC News. Danny Masterson Sentencing
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Los Angeles Times. Mistrial in Danny Masterson Rape Trial After Jury Deadlocks
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NBC News. Danny Masterson Sentenced to 30 Years to Life in Prison
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The New York Times. Danny Masterson Rape Trial Sentencing
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CBC. Danny Masterson Rape Sentence
8
Courthouse News Service. Danny Masterson Asks Appeals Court to Overturn Rape Conviction
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ABC News. Danny Masterson Blames Lawyer Anti-Scientology Bias Rape
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U.S. News. Actor Danny Masterson Asks for Rape Convictions to Be Tossed Over Lawyer Errors
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Rolling Stone. What We Know Danny Masterson Scientology Rape Civil Suit
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Los Angeles Times. Appeals Court Says Former Scientologists Can Take the Church to Court
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Bloomberg Law. Scientology’s Bids to Dismiss Masterson Suit Fails on Appeal
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People. Bijou Phillips Files to Drop Masterson From Daughter’s Name
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Entertainment Weekly. Bijou Phillips Moves to Drop Danny Masterson Last Name From Daughter Name