A judge in the trial of That ’70s Show actor Danny Masterson has declared a mistrial after the jury was “hopelessly deadlocked”.
Masterson has been charged with raping three women in his home during the early 2000s. He has pled not-guilty to the charges and didn’t testify in court.
Judge Charlaine Olmedo set a retrial date for March 27.
“I find the jurors hopelessly deadlocked,” she said.
Two jurors had to be dismissed because they caught COVID-19, so deliberations started again from scratch on Monday, according to The Guardian.
Jurors reportedly voted seven times on Tuesday and Wednesday. But they weren’t able to reach any consensuses.
Variety reported that the jurors told Judge Olmedo in a note: “We are not even close to coming to unanimous decision on any count, and are convinced this will not change”.
Two jurors of the twelve voted to convict on the first count, four on the second count, and five on the third count.
All three women were members of the Church of Scientology at the time of the alleged rapes, while Masterson is still a member of the Church.
Masterson’s accusers have claimed they were harassed and stalked by the Church of Scientology in the wake of Masterson being charged, per The Guardian. They’re also plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the Church, which was filed back in 2019. The Church of Scientology denies the allegations.
Lawyers for two of the women have released a statement on their behalf, saying they are “disappointed”.
“However we are collectively resolved to continue our fights for justice, including in the civil court, where we have alleged that Mr Masterson, along with the Church of Scientology, its leader David Miscavige and others conspired to systematically stalk, harass and intimidate us when we sough to shed light on Mr Masterson’s actions,” the statement said.
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