Mistrial declared in actor Danny Masterson's rape trial - The Associated Press - en Español

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A justice declared a mistrial Wednesday aft jurors said they were hopelessly deadlocked astatine the proceedings of “That ’70s Show” histrion Danny Masterson, who was charged with 3 rapes.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo had ordered the jurors to instrumentality Thanksgiving week disconnected and support deliberating aft they told her connected Nov. 18 that they could not travel to a statement astir the rape allegations aft a monthlong proceedings successful which the Church of Scientology played a supporting role.

Masterson, 46, was charged with the rape of 3 women, including a erstwhile girlfriend, successful his Hollywood Hills location betwixt 2001 and 2003. He pleaded not blameworthy and his lawyer said the acts were each consensual. All 3 women were members of the religion astatine the time, and Masterson remains one.

“I find the jurors hopelessly deadlocked,” Judge Charlaine Olmedo declared aft inquiring whether determination was thing the tribunal could bash to determination them person to reaching a unanimous decision. She acceptable a March day for a retrial.

Jurors said they had voted 7 times Tuesday and Wednesday without being capable to scope statement connected immoderate of the 3 counts.

The assemblage foreman said lone 2 jurors voted for condemnation connected the archetypal count, 4 voted for condemnation connected the 2nd number and 5 voted to convict connected the 3rd count.

Jurors were forced to commencement deliberations from scratch connected Monday erstwhile 2 had to beryllium dismissed due to the fact that they came down with COVID-19. They deliberated for 2 days but inactive could not scope verdicts.

The effect was a superior setback for prosecutors, and for the 3 women who said they were seeking agelong overdue justice.

The proceedings took spot amid a flurry of cases connected some coasts with #MeToo connotations, including the Los Angeles proceedings of Harvey Weinstein conscionable down the hallway from Masterson’s. In New York, Kevin Spacey won a intersexual misconduct suit brought by histrion Anthony Rapp successful New York, and a assemblage ordered manager and screenwriter Paul Haggis to wage $10 million successful a civilian lawsuit there.

But astatine the Masterson trial, arsenic astatine the Haggis trial, the #MeToo implications were mostly eclipsed by the specter of Scientology, contempt the judge’s insistence that the religion not go a de facto defendant.

The women, each referred to arsenic Jane Does and each erstwhile members of the church, said they were intimidated, harassed and stalked aft Masterson was charged. They person repeated those allegations successful a pending suit against the church.

Masterson lawyer Philip Cohen said the religion was mentioned 700 times during proceedings and argued that it became an excuse for the prosecution’s nonaccomplishment to physique a believable lawsuit against Masterson, a salient Scientologist.

But Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller said the religion had tried to soundlessness the women and that was the crushed it took 2 decades for the lawsuit to get to trial.

Masterson did not testify. His lawyer presented nary defence grounds and alternatively focused connected inconsistencies successful the accounts of the 3 accusers, who helium said changed their stories implicit clip and spoke with each different earlier going to police.

“The cardinal to this lawsuit is not erstwhile they reported it,” Cohen said during closing arguments. “It’s what they said erstwhile they reported it. What they said aft they reported it. And what they said astatine trial.”

Mueller argued that Masterson was a antheral “for whom ‘no’ ne'er meant ‘no,’” arsenic shown by the graphic and affectional grounds of the 3 accusers.

Two women said they were served drinks by Masterson and became woozy oregon passed retired earlier being violently raped. One said she thought she would dice arsenic Masterson held a pillow implicit her face.

An ex-girlfriend said she awoke to uncovering Masterson having enactment with her without her consent. The defence said her claims were undermined due to the fact that she aboriginal had enactment with him aft they broke up.

Cohen told jurors they could acquit Masterson if they thought helium “actually and reasonably believed” the women consented to having sex. Mueller countered that cipher would judge the acts described were consensual, reminding jurors that 1 pistillate repeatedly told him “no,” pulled his hairsbreadth and tried to get retired from nether him.

Mueller told jurors not to beryllium swayed by defence speculation and said contradictions successful the victims’ grounds were signs of authenticity arsenic opposed to accounts that had been scripted.

The charges day to a play erstwhile Masterson was astatine the tallness of his fame, starring from 1998 until 2006 arsenic Steven Hyde connected Fox’s “That ’70s Show.” The amusement made stars of Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis and Topher Grace and is getting an upcoming Netflix reboot with “That ’90s Show.”

Masterson had reunited with Kutcher connected the Netflix drama “The Ranch” but was written disconnected the amusement erstwhile an LAPD probe was revealed successful December 2017.