Four women are suing Danny Masterson, the Church of Scientology, and its leader, David Miscavige, for stalking them after accusing Masterson of sexual assault. According to documents obtained by The Blast, “When those women came forward to report Masterson’s crimes, the Defendants conspired to and systematically stalked, harassed, invaded their and their family’s privacy, and intentionally caused them emotional distress and silence and intimidate them.â€
The names of two of the women, Christine Bixler and Bobette Riales, are disclosed in the lawsuit. Two others are Jane Does. Bixler claims that her dog died mysteriously after she accused Masterson of sexual assault. She says she requested a necropsy on the dog, and that it had died of “unexplained traumatic injuries to her trachea and esophagus.†Riales claims that she was followed after going to the police about Masterson. She believes her house was surveilled, her trash stolen, her 13-year-old child’s bedroom window smashed, and her food-truck business vandalized by the Church.
Scientology itself is named as a defendant in part because of alleged practices and dogma that prevent assault survivors from going to the police, or even to anyone outside the religion. “The Institutional Defendants instruct their members and agents that reporting such instances to law enforcement is considered a ‘high crime’ and subjects the member to punishment,†the lawsuit states. Masterson has denied all claims of sexual misconduct and assault since they were made in 2017.