Danny Masterson convicted on two counts of rape
A Los Angeles jury Wednesday has found "That '70s Show" actor Danny Masterson guilty of two counts of forcible rape.
Jurors resumed deliberations Wednesday after a four-day break in the retrial of Masterson, who was charged with raping three women at his Hollywood Hills home between 2001 and 2003.
The jury spent about 6 1/2 days deliberating since being handed the case on May 17 after just over a day of closing arguments from attorneys.
Jurors said they were deadlocked on the third rape charge against Masterson.
Last Thursday afternoon, the downtown L.A. panel re-heard portions of testimony from one of the alleged victims, who was a former longtime girlfriend of Masterson.
The seven-woman, five-man jury had previously asked to re-watch portions of a videotaped interview and to look at transcripts from that interview between the same woman and two Los Angeles Police Department detectives in January 2017.
The jury was the second to hear the case against Masterson, 47, who was charged in 2020 with three counts of rape by force or fear involving the three women on separate occasions.
During last year's trial, jurors leaned in favor of acquittal on all three counts, voting 10-2 on one count, 8-4 on another and 7-5 on the third --but they were unable to reach a unanimous decision, leading to the mistrial on Nov. 30.
Prosecutors confirmed in January that they wanted to retry the actor, and Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo rejected a defense effort to have the charges dismissed.
In his final argument, Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller told the jury, "This defendant drugged and raped each one of these victims. ... It is time to hold Mr. Masterson accountable for what he has done."
Defense attorney Philip Kent Cohen had urged jurors during his closing argument to acquit his client, questioning the credibility of the alleged victims.
In his rebuttal argument during the retrial, Mueller said the three alleged victims were -- like Masterson -- members of the Church of Scientology, and told jurors that the church retaliated against them.
"What happened after they were drugged -- they were raped by this man over here," the prosecutor said, pointing across the courtroom at Masterson. "... You have an opportunity to show there is justice. It does
exist."
Masterson had been free on bail since his June 2020 arrest by the LAPD's Robbery-Homicide Division.
In December 2017, Netflix announced that Masterson had been fired from the Emmy-winning scripted comedy "The Ranch" amid sexual assault allegations.
The actor said then he was "very disappointed," and added that "it seems as if you are presumed guilty the moment you are accused." He also "denied the outrageous allegations" and said he looked forward to "clearing my name once and for all."
