Danny Masterson pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to three rape charges in Los Angeles.
The plea was entered on Masterson’s behalf by his attorney, Tom Mesereau, following unsuccessful attempts to have the case thrown out.
In June, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office charged Masterson with three counts of forcible rape stemming from accusations of three incidents in 2001 and 2003 with three different women. If convicted, Masterson faces a maximum sentence of 45 years to life in prison.
Masterson is accused of raping a 23-year-old woman between January and December 2001, a 28-year-old woman in April 2003 and a 23-year-old woman between October and December 2003.
The criminal case is separate from an ongoing civil lawsuit against Masterson and the Church of Scientology, whose plaintiffs include Chrissie Bixler and her husband Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Marie Bobette Riales and two anonymous Jane Does. In late December, a judge ruled that Bixler, Bixler-Zavala and the two Jane Does must arbitrate their claims through the church because they “signed lifelong agreements to be bound to arbitrate any and all claims against Scientology” by a panel of Scientologists.