After a month-long trial in which the Church of Scientology played a supporting role, the judge on Wednesday declared a mistrial in the rape case involving ‘That ’70s Show’ actor Danny Masterson. The jury was strongly inclined to acquit him.
Authorities claim that between 2001 and 2003, Masterson sexually assaulted three women, among them a former girlfriend, in his Hollywood Hills home. For years, the church allegedly prevented the victims from coming forward. Masterson, 46, entered a not guilty plea and claimed that all of the acts were consensual.
Judge Charlaine Olmedo remarked, ‘I find the jurors hopelessly deadlocked,’ after the jury foreman said there was nothing the court could do to help the jury get closer to a unanimous verdict. She set a March date for a retrial in Los Angeles Superior Court.
After the jury stated on November 18 that they were unable to come to a decision, Olmedo ordered them to take the week off over Thanksgiving and continue their deliberations. After two jurors who were diagnosed with COVID-19 over the weekend were replaced by alternates, a jury of six women and six men reopened its deliberations on Monday.
The foreman noted that despite voting seven times on Tuesday and Wednesday, the jury was unable to agree on any of the three counts. The first count received votes from two jurors, the second count received votes from four jurors, and the third count received votes from five jurors.
The result was a serious setback for prosecutors, and for the three women who said they were seeking long overdue justice and provided emotional and graphic testimony over several days.
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