A mistrial has been declared in Danny Masterson’s rape case. The That ’70s Show star, 46, was charged with forcibly raping three ladies from 2001 to 2003. Masterson pleaded not responsible and maintained his innocence by way of his legal professionals, however opted to not take the stand throughout high-profile trial on the Los Angeles Superior Courthouse. Masterson confronted as much as 45 years in jail if he’d been convicted on all counts.
In a be aware to the decide, jurors stated, “We are not even close to coming to a unanimous decision on any count, and are convinced this will not change,” per Variety.
Jurors initially deliberated for 3 days starting on Nov. 15, however the group could not attain a unanimous determination on the three expenses of forcible rape. The decide launched the panel on Nov. 18 and ordered the members again to court docket 10 days later. When jurors returned on Monday, they needed to begin deliberations over as two members examined constructive for COVID-19 over the break. The decide changed these jurors with two alternates. The jury initially comprised seven ladies and 5 males, and later six males and 6 ladies. On Wednesday afternoon, the jury stated it was deadlocked.
A retrial date has been set for March 27, 2023.
Despite the protection crew’s greatest effort to distance the case from the Church of Scientology, of which Masterson is one if probably the most distinguished members, the controversial faith loomed giant over the month-long trial. Three Jane Does who accused Masterson of rape are former Scientologists and claimed their allegations towards the actor had been suppressed by the church. They declare they have been threatened and harassed in latest years to maintain quiet. The church has denied such allegations.
“There are no charges against Scientology. But Scientology cannot be avoided,” Deputy Los Angeles County District Attorney Reinhold Mueller stated in his closing arguments, pointing to guidelines inside the group that prompted the Jane Does to stay silent for thus lengthy. “Fear of going to law enforcement… certain statements about what is rape and what is not rape. You can’t avoid it. These are victims who have had the church as part of their life.”
Masterson’s protection lawyer claimed the prosecution saved mentioning Scientology to bias the jury towards his consumer. During closing statements, lawyer Philip Cohen tried to discredit the ladies over “inconsistencies” in their tales.
Jane Doe No. 1 took the stand and claimed she was anally penetrated her towards her will in 2002. She testified she needed to communicate with a church ethics officer and was “forced to make peace” with Masterson. In 2003, she claimed she was raped at Masterson’s home after she believes he slipped one thing in her drink whereas she was in the Jacuzzi. Jane Doe No. 1 emotionally advised the jury how she remembered waking up in in the actor’s mattress with him on high of her, and when she tried to shove him away, he held her down and grabbed her throat.
“I just couldn’t breathe,” she sobbed, including she thought “I was going to die.”
The girl claimed she reported what occurred to a Scientologist Ethics Officer and claimed the particular person lined it up. Although Jane Doe No. 1 was afraid of being excommunicated from the church, she went to the police and filed a report in 2004. Soon after, the accuser was paid $400,000 in installments in order to signal a non-disclosure settlement, which she broke at trial.
Jane Doe No. 2 testified she was raped by Masterson after he invited her to his home in 2003. The actor purportedly gave her a glass of wine and advised her to get in the Jacuzzi when she began to really feel “numb.” The girl alleged she was later penetrated towards her will, telling the jury after she felt “awful. Out of it. Scared. In pain. Just a rag doll — not totally in charge of my faculties.” She could not course of that what occurred was rape.
“In the church, he was more important than me at the time. That would have made my life horrible. You’re not allowed to accuse someone of anything that’s against the law,” she stated.
A former longtime girlfriend of Masterson’s, often known as Jane No. 3, testified that the actor raped her whereas she was sleeping in 2001. After having a glass or two of wine throughout dinner, the lady awakened the subsequent morning in his dwelling and “noticed my whole body hurt. The back of my head hurt and I noticed that I was injured in my bottom.”
Jane Doe No. 3 stated she confronted Masterson.
“I asked him, ‘what happened last night?’ I asked him if I had fallen because I was hurting ‘down there,'” she testified. “He laughed at me and said he had sex with me there.” The girl claimed she requested Masterson if she was unconscious the entire time. “He said ‘yes.'”
The girl stated there was “no asking, no loving” when it got here to their sex-life.
“A lot of times, it would happen where I would be asleep and I would wake up to him having sex with me,” she stated. “That was normal. It was the only thing I knew … that was just how it was.”
Jane Doe No. 3, who’s concerned in a separate civil case towards Scientology, stated she’s not after cash however is making an attempt to cease the “terror campaign that this criminal organization has put upon me or my family.”
A fourth accuser, who was by no means a member of the Church of Scientology, was allowed to testify regardless of objections from the protection. Jane Doe No. 4 claimed Masterson raped her twice, although her allegations did not result in expenses. Her story mirrored these of the opposite ladies as she claimed in 1996, she fell asleep in Masterson’s dwelling and later awoke with him having intercourse on high of her.
Masterson has been out on $3.3 million bail since his 2020 arrest. Sexual assault allegations first surfaced towards the actor, whose credit additionally embrace Face/Off, Dracula 2000 and the collection The Ranch, in 2016 and the Los Angeles Police Department launched an investigation. Public scrutiny intensified when the #MeToo motion swept by way of Hollywood the next yr.
Masterson has been married to Bijou Phillips, who can be a Scientologist, since 2011 and the 2 share an 8-year-old daughter. Phillips has publicly supported Masterson amid the scandal and confirmed as much as court docket every single day for 4 weeks. Actor Billy Baldwin, who’s married to Bijou’s youthful singer, Chynna Phillips, additionally appeared in court docket to assist the household. Meanwhile, ex-Scientologist Leah Remini publicly lent assist to lots of Masterson’s accusers.
MORE: Harvey Weinstein, Danny Masterson’s rape trials mark watershed second for #MeToo
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