Danny Masterson Rape Trial Jury Says It’s Deadlocked

The jury in Danny Masterson’s rape trial said on Friday that it’s at an impasse on all of the charges.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo directed them to resume deliberations on Nov. 28 after Thanksgiving week despite being “hopelessly deadlocked,” since it hasn’t been long enough to declare a mistrial. Jurors have been considering the trio of rape charges against the That ’70s Show star since Wednesday.

Masterson, charged with raping three women from 2001 to 2003, faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted on all counts. He’s pleaded not guilty, maintaining that all of the women agreed to consensual sex.

Defense attorney Phillip Cohen pushed back on jurors resuming deliberations, arguing that they’d be exposed to evidence not in the record.

“Although the amount of time the trial has taken would make two days seem insufficient, it really comes down to a simple analysis: Do you believe the women or do you not?” he said.

Cohen urged Olmedo to ask the jury what could be done to come to a unanimous decision on the charges. He asked the judge to bring jurors back in on Monday to resume deliberations, which she declined.

“There’s been insufficient time for deliberations to declare a deadlock,” she said. “The concern that the defense cites of publicity in this case is true for any highly publicized case. It’s not unusual for trials to take breaks for the holidays.”