american actor Danny Masterson will face a second trial for three counts of rapeafter an initial trial that ended in November with his acquittal.
Masterson He is accused of forcibly raping three women in his home of Los Angeles between 2001 and 2003, years in which he was part of the cast of the successful Fox sitcom, That show from the 70s.
New opportunity for victims
“Our office has decided to retry this case,” Assistant District Attorney Reinhold Mueller told the court, adding, “Don’t give these victims another chance with a jury that can sit there and consider all the evidence, win , lose or draw, would be an injustice,” he added.
The judge Charlaine Olmedo denied a defense request to dismiss the case and scheduled the start of the new trial for March 29, detailed on the specialized site Variety.
Meanwhile, defense attorney Philip Cohen said a new jury was unlikely to vote unanimously to convict his client.
First time
The Los Angeles court set to try Danny Masterson, known for playing Hyde in the series That show from the 70s between 1998 and 2006, he had declared the judicial process after that “null”. unable to reach a verdict on the three counts of rape which the actor coped. Thus begins a new process.
“We’re not even close to reaching a unanimous decision on any charge and we are convinced that this will not change,” said the statement released by the jurors to Charlaine Olmedo, the lead judge in the case.
The division of the jury was maintained during the three votes. In the first, there were two votes that found him guilty and ten innocent. In the second, the issue was somewhat evenly matched: 4 to 8. In the third and final, five members pleaded guilty and seven defended their innocence.
Masterson’s defense attorney, Philip CoenHe said the actor felt “a lot of relief” and that he hoped “the jury’s position” would be analyzed by the prosecution: “Hearing 10, 8 and 7 votes in favor of his innocence is something very relevant to this case.”
the current case
Masterson is accused of raping three women aged between 24 and 29 when they coincided as members of the Church of Scientology from 2001 to 2003. If convicted of all three offenses, he could receive a prison sentence 45 years in prison in a California state prison.
Los Angeles Superior Court decided to file proceedings against Masterson in 2021 after finding “proof enough”after hearing the testimony of the three victims.
The actor’s version supports this intercourse with the three women was agreed and described the trial as “revenge against the cult it practices,” as the alleged victims subsequently left the Church of Scientology.
“Masterson allegedly raped a 28-year-old woman in April 2003 and is accused between October and December of that year of raping a 23-year-old woman whom he had invited to his Hollywood Hills home,” the indictment said.
Additionally, the lawsuit also includes the case of a 23-year-old woman who reported being raped in 2001.
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Source: Clarin
