Danny Masterson rape case declared a mistrial
A judge declared a mistrial in the Danny Masterson rape case Wednesday, as the jury could not reach a decision on whether the actor was innocent or guilty.
Masterson, 46, had been charged with three counts of forcible rape over incidents that occurred between 2001 to 2003 involving three accusers.
During the five-week trial, jurors heard testimony including one woman who said she thought she was “going to die” when she claimed the former “That ’70s Show” star choked and raped her in April 2003.
Following the mistrial, prosecutors must now make a decision on whether to retry Masterson, a decision they have to reach by March 2023.
Although Scientology was not a defendant in the trial, the victims — who were members of the religion at the time of the incidents — testified about the fear and alienation they felt about reporting Masterson, a prominent member of the Church.
The alleged victims also claimed the religious practices they followed at the time didn’t allow them to think the incidents were rape.
One of the women, Jen B., testified when she attempted to report Masterson to other Church members, she was told to “stop blaming” him because according to Scientology, “You can never be a victim. Nothing ever happens to you without it being your fault.”
Jen B. also testified she was in an out of consciousness and woke up to Masterson on top of her, his penis in her vagina. She said she tried to push the actor off but he pulled her hair. At some point, Masterson put his hand around her throat.
Jen B. said she thought she was going “to die. That he was going to kill me.”
Jen B. also testified she was given a choice after the incident — either sign a $400,000 non-disclosure agreement or risk being excommunicated from Scientology, her family and friends.
Chrissie B., another accuser who was a former girlfriend of the actor, told jurors she met Masterson at a party in 1996 when she just turned 18. About a year into the relationship, she said Masterson became emotionally and sexually abusive.
She said Masterson raped her twice in the Hollywood Hills home they had shared in 2001. During one of the incidents, Chrissie B. said she woke up to Masterson’s full weight on top of her. Despite screaming and objecting, Chrissie B. said Masterson continued to rape her.
Masterson’s defense attorneys argued the three accusers had changed their stories over the years and questioned the motive and character of the alleged victims.
Defense attorney Philip Cohen said despite repeated warnings from Los Angeles Police Department investigators, the three accusers had spoken with one another and already “contaminated” the case by exchanging details of their encounters with Masterson.
On the stand he also asked them questions which led to the accusers contradicting themselves. Masterson himself did not take the stand during the trial.
Cohen pointed out how prosecutors depicted his client as a “commanding scary, abusive monster” but also his former girlfriend admitted on the stand she had willingly had sex with him after her alleged rape.
In his closing arguments, Cohen blasted the accusers “contradictions and fabrications” and 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.”
He also claimed they had used Scientology as an scapegoat, adding: “We’ve heard Scientology over and over again — so much so, it became the go-to excuse.
“When someone didn’t remember something or someone got contradicted, it became about Scientology.”
