Danny Masterson Rape Retrial: Jury Begins Deliberations

Jury deliberations have officially begun in Danny Masterson’s second rape trial. According to Deadline, after the prosecution and defense delivered their closing arguments, the retrial jury left the courtroom to begin their discussion. If convicted on the trio of rape charges, the actor faces over 40 years in prison.

The first sexual assault trial against Masterson came to a close in November, with the jury hung on all charges. Per a report from Variety, Judge Charlaine Olmedo advised the parties involved that the jurors were not able to reach a unanimous verdict after nearly two weeks of deliberation. She read a note from the jurors that stated: “We are not even close to coming to a unanimous decision on any count, and are convinced this will not change.”

Masterson is best known for playing high school slacker Steven Hyde on That ’70s Show for the show’s eight-season run on Fox. Years later, he and Ashton Kutcher, another star of That ’70s Show, re-teamed for The Ranch, on Netflix. However, in 2017, multiple women filed sexual assault reports against Masterson, prompting Netflix to fire him. Those allegations became charges on “three counts of forcible rape relating to incidents involving three women from 2001 to 2003.” 

Per Variety, the jurors advised Judge Olmedo that “they were divided on each charge. The split was two for guilty and 10 for not guilty on Count 1; four for guilty and eight for not guilty on Count 2; and five for guilty and seven for not guilty on Count 3.” The actor was later given a new trial date, according to Deadline. The outlet reported that Judge Olmedo had previously set March 29 as the date that jury selection would begin. Additionally, the outlet also noted that L.A. County Deputy District Attorneys Mueller and Ariel Anson confirmed they would prosecute the new trial.

According to the AP, during opening arguments, Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller stated that investigators believe Masterson put substances into the drinks of women whom Masterson is charged with raping. “The evidence will show that they were drugged,” Mueller told the jury. 

Masterson’s defense team denies the accusations, with attorney Philip Cohen noting, “There is no drugging charge in this case,” which the prosecution reportedly agreed with while stating they could bring in a toxicologist to testify to the effects of being drugged. “A toxicologist can come in opine to whatever they want, but there is no toxicology report, there’s no urine, no blood work, no DNA,” Cohen replied. Finally, Cohen added of one accuser, “She spoke to her mom about how her date with Masterson went, she spoke to her friends, she did not ever say to one person, ‘I was drugged.’ Never.”