Mistrial Declared In 'That 70s Show' Actor Danny Masterson's Criminal Rape Case
Nov. 30 2022, Published 6:45 p.m. ET
Danny Masterson will not face 45 years in prison after a mistrial was declared in a Los Angeles court on Wednesday, at least not yet, RadarOnline.com has learned. The decision was a huge win for That '70s Show actor, who had been fighting three charges of forcible rape; however, a retrial has already been scheduled for March — leaving Masterson only a short time to catch his breath.
The jury included a pair of alternates, who took the place of two jurors on Monday after they caught COVID during the holiday weekend.
They informed the judge of the status of their votes, which were as followed: for count one, two guilty and 10 not guilty; for count two, four guilty and eight not guilty; and for count three, five guilty and seven not guilty.
On November 18, the former jury was deadlocked, revealing they couldn't come to an agreement by sending the judge a note. The judge in the case told them they had not deliberated long enough and ordered them to come back after the Thanksgiving break.
Masterson — who is a longtime Scientologist — was accused of raping three women between 2001-2003 during the height of his career while playing Steven Hyde on the popular sitcom.
He had always maintained his innocence, pleading not guilty after he was charged in 2020.
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At the time, the actor's attorney Tom Mesereau spoke out on behalf of his client, vowing to fight to the bitter end.
"Mr. Masterson is innocent, and we’re confident that he will be exonerated when all the evidence finally comes to light and witnesses have the opportunity to testify," he said.
Masterson's legal team tried to go after ex-Scientologist Leah Remini, insisting that her tweets about the actor's allegations were preventing him from getting a "fair" trial.
The judge didn't see it that way, telling his attorneys, "Ms. Remini's views don't influence my legal rulings. I follow the case law, and so whatever she is tweeting about certainly has no bearing on the court."
When it came to the jurors, the judge stated, "I have significantly admonished them not to pay attention to social media and we assume they follow the court's admonition. I don't think any of them indicated that they followed Ms. Remini at all. I know some indicated they had seen her show. But I don't know any of them have been exposed to that."
It appears the judge was right. The fight isn't completely over though.
As RadarOnline.com reported, four women — and one of their husbands — filed a lawsuit in August 2019 against Scientology and Masterson, accusing the church of allegedly stalking them, hacking their phones, and even killing their pets after they came forward to the Los Angeles Police Department with allegations against the actor.
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