Did the Church of Scientology excommunicate Danny Masterson after his conviction?

In September, Danny Masterson was finally convicted of serial rape and abuse. During his two trials, his wife Bijou Phillips stood by him and she was in court every day, I believe. People close to Bijou leaked stories to People Mag about how Bijou would never leave him and she believes in him completely. After Masterson’s conviction, he was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison. Soon after, Bijou filed for divorce, and she and Masterson began to make arrangements to protect their money, lest his victims sue them in civil court. Just days ago, Masterson also signed over full custody of their daughter to Bijou too. Throughout all of this, I’ve wondered what the Church of Scientology is saying and doing to Bijou. CoS did the most to protect Masterson and threaten his victims, but it seems like CoS has been a-okay with Bijou’s moves throughout the past month as she seeks to distance herself from a convicted rapist. Well, now a private investigator has gone “on the record” with the Daily Mail about how CoS has responded:

Danny Masterson has been expelled from the Church of Scientology following his rape conviction that earned him 30 years in prison, DailyMail.com can reveal. The actor has been declared a ‘suppressive person’ – or ‘SP’ – which the church defines as someone whose behavior seeks to impede the spiritual progress of those around him. The label means fellow Scientologists, including his wife Bijou Phillips and his family, will be required to cut all ties with the convicted rapist. But even with the expulsion, the church maintains that Masterson is innocent of all charges, according to insiders.

The shocking development was revealed by longtime private investigator Jeffrey Augustine on his website, The Scientology Money Project, which has been dedicated to exposing the alleged wrongdoings of the church since 2014. In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, Augustine, a former Scientologist himself, explained the reasons behind the radical decision to cut ties with a member they publicly supported during two lengthy criminal trials.

Augustine, 66, said the Church of Scientology had not planned to go public with the news and are still telling members Masterson is innocent and that former Scientologist Leah Remini conspired with other revengeful former members to disparage him.

‘According to my sources, Danny has been declared a suppressive person, which means he would be expelled from Scientology,’ Augustine said. ‘They are telling Scientologists that he will file an appeal and that he is innocent of the charges for which he was convicted. They (church officials) declared Danny a suppressive person for not maintaining the high ethical standards for the Church of Scientology, and other reasons – but not because he was convicted of rape,’ Augustine added.

Chrissie Carnell Bixler, the accuser whose case ended without a guilty verdict attended Saturday’s protest along with one of the women whose evidence convicted the star of That ’70s Show. When asked about Masterson being declared suppressive, Bixler told DailyMail.com: ‘They should have declared him an SP when I originally went to them.’ Bixler and the other two women he was convicted of raping are suing the convicted rapist in a separate civil suit, another possible reason for his expulsion.

[From The Daily Mail]

Yeah, I’m not sure I buy this? Would CoS suddenly do something so drastic as “excommunicate” Masterson after his conviction, especially when their whole deal for years has been “we stick by this rapist no matter what.” It feels like declaring that Masterson is “an SP” gives away the game? I’m sure there’s a legal strategy at play somewhere, especially given that several of Masterson’s victims were Scientologists, and as Chrissie Carnell Bixler says, they went to CoS at the time, when Masterson drugged them and raped them. CoS still stood by Masterson all that time. That being said, something is definitely up – I do not believe Bijou would be allowed to make this kind of clean break from Masterson without the explicit permission of CoS.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.

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