Essential California: Scientology’s inner secrets debated in Danny Masterson rape case

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Friday, May 28. I’m Anita Chabria, writing from Sacramento, where Memorial Day temperatures are set to hit 105 by Monday.

The Church of Scientology found itself in the hot seat inside an L.A. courtroom last week during the trial of actor Danny Masterson, who is accused of violent sexual assaults against three women who were also members of the secretive religion.

Though the church works hard to keep its business out of the public eye, church officials were unable to stop their practices from being debated in open court as the women took the stand against Masterson, detailing alleged rapes by the actor and delving into Scientology rules they said deterred them from reporting the attacks.

L.A. Times reporters James Queally and Matthew Ormseth were on hand for the preliminary hearing, and Queally said afterward that the graphic testimony could “be kind of a preview� for an unusual look inside the inner workings of Scientology, whose lawyers in the past have successfully argued that its beliefs and processes are off limits in court proceedings.

But Queally and Ormseth reported that this case is different. Both the defense and the prosecution have brought Scientology’s practices into their arguments, with the permission of the judge. Queally said that is significant.

Though the church is not accused of wrongdoing in the case and is not involved in the proceedings (Scientology representatives strongly deny that its policies discourage reporting crimes), “it seems like Scientology is going to be central in this case,� said Queally, because the woman allege that church doctrine prevented them from reporting the assaults when they first happened.

“That is always a tactic of the defense in a sexual assault case,� said Queally of focusing on the delay. “Why now? Why didn’t you report it sooner? The church is the ‘why now’ in the prosecution’s theory.�

[Read the story “Scientology’s secrets spill into open in Danny Masterson rape case� in the Los Angeles Times]

And now, here’s what’s happening across California:

In the latest, and most extraordinary effort yet to boost California’s flagging COVID-19 vaccination rates, state officials on Thursday announced what appears to be the largest inoculation incentive in the nation: the chance for 10 residents to win $1.5 million apiece.

Along with the 10 grand prizes — the winners of which will be chosen June 15, the date the state is set to fully reopen its economy — California is also putting up 30 prizes of $50,000 each, with half the winners selected on June 4 and the rest on June 11.

Don’t worry if you’ve already gotten the Fauci ouchie — winners will be drawn from everyone in the state vaccine database, regardless of when you got the shot. Kids 12 and up can win, too, with the money going into a savings account until they hit 18. Los Angeles Times

As the city of San Jose planned a vigil for the nine victims of a mass shooting, new details emerged about the moments leading up to their deaths.

New reports have revealed that the gunman may have targeted the victims, who ranged in age from 29 to 63, firing 39 shots from multiple handguns. The victims were found in two buildings at the Valley Transit Authority on Wednesday, and witnesses said the gunman walked “coolly� by some while attacking others.

“It appears to us at this point that he said to one of the people there: ‘I’m not going to shoot you,’� Santa Clara Sheriff Laurie Smith told the Associated Press on Thursday. “And then he shot other people. So I imagine there was some kind of thought on who he wanted to shoot.� Los Angeles Times

L.A. STORIES

Why does this member of Congress sleep with a gun by her bed? My colleagues Tracy Wilkinson and Sarah D. Wire profile Pomona Rep. Norma Torres, the lone member of Congress born in Central America and a woman who is not afraid to speak her mind — or defend it. She’s called the president of Honduras a narco.

The president of El Salvador, she said, was a “narcissistic dictator.� Her blunt talk has drawn so much anger from one Central American leader and his followers that she sleeps with a 9-millimeter pistol at her side. But Torres, who came to the U.S. with an uncle when she was 5, is also viewed as a “thought leader� by colleagues for her life experience. Los Angeles Times subscriber exclusive

Family and supporters of a 6-year-old boy shot to death in a road rage incident have cobbled together a $300,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the unknown shooter. As the family of Aiden Leos grieves the death of a child, law enforcement is searching for leads, hoping a witness to the Highway 55 attack may come forward.

“Maybe there’s a camera somewhere that caught a fleeting glimpse of something that allows law enforcement to connect the dots,� said Orange County supervisor Don Wagner at a news conference Thursday. “Whatever it happens to be, come forward, and if you contribute to the capture and the conviction of Aiden’s killer, you’re in line for that reward.� Los Angeles Times

It’s spring 2021. It’s Friday at dusk. Gaggles of curious teenagers are gathering for an unfamiliar event designed to salvage a high school year that hardly was and pump an unaccustomed feeling into their final weeks as juniors and seniors — joy. Call it prom-ish.

L.A. Times reporter Melissa Gomez brings you a tale of hope, happiness and maybe even one cheek-to-cheek dance if no one is watching. If for no other reason, check it out for the stunning “last-minute� dress Lynwood High senior made from Nigerian cloth, a creation worthy of a red carpet, or a pandemic queen on her way to better days. Los Angeles Times

Malayah Wells, 18, wears a mask with a new dress made from Nigerian cloth in Lynwood. (Click on the story for an even better picture.)

(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

THE CORONAVIRUS

Immunity to the coronavirus may persist for years, scientists find. Immunity to the coronavirus lasts at least a year, possibly a lifetime, improving over time especially after vaccination, according to two new studies. The findings may help put to rest lingering fears that protection against the virus will be short-lived. New York Times

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Prosecutors are investigating whether Ukrainians meddled in the 2020 election. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn have been investigating whether several Ukrainian officials helped orchestrate a wide-ranging plan to meddle in the 2020 presidential campaign, including using Rudolph W. Giuliani to spread their misleading claims about President Biden and tilt the election in Donald Trump’s favor, according to people with knowledge of the matter. New York Times

Biden in an Ohio visit touts his economic plans (and eats an ice cream cone — chocolate). President Biden on Thursday toured a community college in Cleveland and made an optimistic case for pumping trillions of dollars into the economy, arguing that it was beginning to stabilize, while imploring Republicans to drop their opposition to raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans. The remarks come at a pivotal moment, amid negotiations with Republicans over an infrastructure spending plan that both sides have agreed to carry into next week. Republicans and some Democrats have raised concerns that Biden’s plan to pump trillions of federal dollars into the economy, along with other factors like pent-up demand, could increase the risk of inflation. Washington Post

CRIME AND COURTS

L.A. Times crime writer Richard Winton unearthed a horrific murder inside a California prison, and the alleged cover-up by guards who may have failed to perform required checks. In a lawsuit, the family of the victim, Luis Romero, 44, alleges guards failed to investigate what was happening when a self-styled satanist and convicted killer hung a sheet over his cell bars while apparently torturing his new cellmate to death and decapitating him with a makeshift knife. Los Angeles Times

Crime stats reported by some California colleges are inaccurate. Four California colleges and universities failed to accurately or completely report crime statistics as required by federal law, including Sonoma State University, which did not include a sexual assault that had occurred on campus in 2019, according to a state audit whose findings were released Thursday. Associated Press

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

“Ammon Bundy coming soon.� Federal water cutoffs are igniting rebellion in Northern California. As the drought hurts farms, Indian tribes and agriculture at the Oregon-California border, some worry anti-government violence may follow. Sacramento Bee

Column: On California’s Central Coast, anti-Asian bias and the Big Lie. California columnist Mark Barabak takes on the convoluted conspiracies of election fraud favored by supporters of former President Trump and their collision with an Asian elections official, Tommy Gong, on the Central Coast. The attacks scraped bottom when a woman asked, “Is Tommy Gong in any way in relationship to the Chinese Communist Party?� Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles: partly cloudy, 75 . San Diego: partly cloudy, 69. San Francisco: partly cloudy, 61. San Jose: partly cloudy,75. Fresno: sunny, 92 . Sacramento: sunny, 90.

AND FINALLY

Today’s California memory comes from Nigel H Barker:

If you have a memory or story about the Golden State, share it with us. (Please keep your story to 100 words.)

Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. Send comments to [email protected].