Bijou Phillips divorcing Danny Masterson after conviction for raping former Scientologists
Bijou Phillips has filed for divorce from disgraced actor Danny Masterson weeks after he was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for raping two former members of the Church of Scientology.
Phillips filed her petition for divorce Monday in Santa Barbara, The Times confirmed. In a statement shared with multiple outlets, Phillips’ lawyer, Peter A. Lauzon, said the divorce comes “during this unfortunate time.”
“Her priority remains with her daughter. This period has been unimaginably hard on the marriage and the family,” Lauzon said. “Mr. Masterson was always present for Ms. Phillips during her most difficult times of her life. Ms. Phillips acknowledges that Mr. Masterson is a wonderful father to their daughter.”
Representatives for Phillips and Masterson did not immediately respond to The Times’ requests for comment Tuesday.
Phillips, 43, and Masterson, 47, married in 2011 and share 9-year-old daughter Fianna Francis.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo handed Masterson his decades-long sentence on Sept. 7, after he was convicted in May on two counts of rape. The assaults took place in the early 2000s, when Masterson starred as Steven Hyde on “That ‘70s Show.”
Masterson’s victims said they waited years to come forward because Scientology doctrine forbade them to report a fellow member to police.
On Sept, 7, Masterson’s defense team issued a statement maintaining that Masterson is innocent, saying they have “identified a number of significant evidentiary and constitutional issues which they will address in briefs to both state and federal appellate courts.”
Phillips filed her petition just days after a source told People that the model and actor “loves Danny and has no plans to file for divorce.”
“She will be by his side for it all,” the source told People.
Times staff writers Jonah Valdez, Christi Carras and James Queally contributed to this report.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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