A judge declared a mistral for Danny Masterson who was facing three rape charges. The jurors were deadlocked after voting seven times on Dec 29 and 30. The 46-year-old actor who shot to fame in the 90’s hit show had been accused of raping three women, one of them his former girlfriend.

All three women were in their 20’s at the time. The mistrial came as a shock to many as it had taken close to 20 years for the case to get to court. Masterson was a member of the Church of Scientology and the Church had tried to silence the women for the longest time.

According to Sky News, the women have also launched a lawsuit against the church for threatening, intimidating, harassing and stalking them.

Danny Masterson himself refrained from testifying and his lawyer focused on the women’s testimonies highlighting inconsistencies along the way.

Danny Masterson Trial

His lawyer Philip Cohen said, “The key to this case is not when they reported it. It’s what they said when they reported it, what they said after they reported it and what they said at trial.”

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During the testimony two of the women said that Danny Masterson gave them drinks and they became dizzy or passed out before being raped, while the third – the ex girlfriend – said she woke up to find Masterson raping her.

Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller said that nobody would believe there was consent when one of the women was consistently saying no.

A retrial will be held in March 2023.

Masterson came to fame by playing Steven Hyde on the popular sitcom with Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Laura Prepon, Topher Grace and Wilmer Valderrama. Netflix has announced a sequel to the show called That 90’s Show which will see some of the original cast returning with guest appearances.

Masterson however will not be returning to the show in light of the above.