Danny Masterson moved from maximum to minimum security prison over ‘safety concerns’

Danny Masterson has been moved out of Corcoran State Prison in Central California after less than a month.

The maximum-security facility is notorious for housing infamous cult leader Charles Manson for many years,

According to state records, former That ‘70s Show star Masterson, 47, has been transferred to California’s Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo, which is categorised as a medium and minimum-security facility.

According to reports in Deadline, the move is due to concerns for “the inmate’s well-being”.

Last year, Masterson was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison after he was found guilty of raping two women over two decades ago.

In January, Masterson was denied bail pending appeal over fears the convicted rapist has “every incentive to flee”.

Records show that the actor will be eligible for parole in 2042 – when he’s 66 years old.

Danny Masterson’s booking photo, 27 December 2023 (California Department of Corrections/AFP)
Danny Masterson’s booking photo, 27 December 2023 (California Department of Corrections/AFP)

Manson was transferred from San Quentin State Prison to Corcoran in March 1989. The cultist, convicted of the murders of seven people, was later transferred to another prison in 1997 after it was found he had been trafficking drugs.

After Masterson’s sentencing, it was revealed that Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, who starred alongside the actor in That ‘70s Show, were among the people who wrote letters of support for him during his trial.

Kutcher, 45, had written that his co-star, with whom he also starred in Netflix sitcom The Ranch, was a “role model” and “a person that is consistently there for you when you need him”.

In her letter, Kunis, 40, called Masterson “an amazing friend, confidant, and, above all, an outstanding older brother figure to me”.

After facing huge backlash, the couple, who married in 2015, shared a joint video apology on social media.

Shortly after he was sentenced, Bijou Phillips – who remained by Masterson’s side through the court proceedings – filed for divorce, ending their nearly 12-year marriage.

They were married in 2011 after meeting at a Las Vegas poker tournament in 2004. Their daughter, Fianna, was born in 2014.

Masterson, who rose to fame for playing Steven Hyde in the Nineties sitcom starring Kunis and Kutcher, was found guilty of two counts of forcible rape by a jury of seven women and five men after a week of deliberations in May last year.

While handing down the sentence on 7 September, Judge Olmedo said: “Mr Masterson, you are not the victim here. Your actions 20 years ago took away another person’s choice and voice. Your actions 20 years ago today were criminal, and that’s why you are here.”

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