Danny Masterson's rape trial declared a mistrial, case to be retried in March
Danny Masterson's rape trial in Los Angeles ended in a mistrial Wednesday after jurors said they couldn't reach a consensus on whether the That '70s Show actor was guilty or innocent.
"I find the jurors hopelessly deadlocked," L.A. Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo said, according to the Associated Press. She has set a retrial date for March.
The jurors had told Olmedo they couldn't reach a verdict on Nov. 18, and she ordered them to take Thanksgiving week off and then keep deliberating. Further complicating matters was a need to start from scratch Monday after two jurors contracted COVID-19 and were replaced.
Masterson was charged in June 2020 with "forcibly raping three women in separate incidents occurring between 2001 and 2003." The women were all referred to as Jane Does. Masterson, who denied all charges, was arrested and released after posting bond on a $3.3 million bail.
Lucy Nicholson - Pool/Getty Images Danny Masterson in court in Los Angeles in 2020
According to the AP, jurors voted seven times over Tuesday and Wednesday without reaching a consensus on any of the three counts. The jury foreman said two jurors voted for conviction on the first count, four voted for conviction on the second count, and five voted to convict on the third count.
The Church of Scientology also loomed large in the case, despite the judge underscoring that the church was not on trial. Like Masterson, the three women were members of the church at the time of the alleged assaults. The women said they were intimidated, harassed, and stalked after Masterson was charged, and have reiterated those accusations in a pending civil lawsuit against the church.
Masterson did not testify during the trial, and the defense focused instead on inconsistencies in the women's accounts. Prosecutors repeatedly pointed to the women's graphic and brutal descriptions of their alleged assaults, including accounts of being served drinks by Masterson before being violently raped.
EW has reached out to representatives for Masterson for comment.
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