BREAKING NEWSDanny Masterson Walks Free In Rape Case After Judge Declares Mistrial
Danny Masterson is temporarily walking free after a judge declared the criminal rape proceedings against the That '70s Show actor a mistrial, on Wednesday, November 30, following a deadlocked jury as the case ran into the court's Thanksgiving break.
Masterson pleaded "not guilty" to sexual assault charges earlier this year after three women hedged rape allegations against the disgraced sitcom star, claiming the violent incidents reportedly occurred at separate times and locations in the early 2000s.
Now, prosecutors are faced with the choice of whether or not to schedule a new trial. However, the previous results didn't look promising as the votes revealed for count one, two jurors voted guilty while 10 voted not guilty; for the second count, four voted guilty and eight not guilty; and for the third rape charge, five voted guilty and seven stated not guilty.
Due to the fact that the jury hadn't yet reached an anonymous decision after deliberating for three days by the time that two of the jurors tested positive for COVID-19, Judge Charlaine F. Olmeda ordered that two alternate jurors be chosen and for the deliberations to start over entirely.
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As OK! previously reported, one of the women involved claimed she was attacked by the actor in 2003 after he texted her a series of forceful yet flirtatious messages, ordering her to come to his home and get into the hot tub with him naked.
"I didn’t understand why he was commanding," she told Masterson's attorney, Thomas Mesereau, at the time. "I thought perhaps he was saying it in a way to be aggressive as a form of flirting. I didn’t understand why he was so aggressive."
Although the woman did go to his home in the end, she stated she had set a clear boundary beforehand that she would not be changing into a bathing suit or getting into the water with him.
Earlier this year, Masterson's legal team requested the case be thrown out, arguing that their client's civil rights had been abused after the judge considered allowing the religious text Introduction to Scientology Ethics as evidence in the case, as the 46-year-old and several members of his family are known Scientologists.
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Judge Olmeda denied the request, with the Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller arguing that the "evidence was admitted by the defense, and for the court," noting it was "absolutely permissible" for the judge to then "review that evidence for the purpose of the state of mind of the witnesses and their credibility."
