Celebrity
Jurors in the Danny Masterson Rape Trial Deadlocked
Jurors in Danny Masterson’s rape trial declared themselves deadlocked on Friday, but a judge told them they had not deliberated long enough for her to declare a mistrial.
The Associated Press reports that after nearly three days of deliberation, the jury informed Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo that they could not reach a unanimous verdict on any of the three rape counts against the actor.
Olmedo had already agreed to give jurors the week of Thanksgiving off. She called a halt to their discussions on Friday, instructing them to return and resume deliberations on Nov. 28.
Masterson, 46, is accused of raping three women in his Hollywood Hills home between 2001 and 2003, including a former girlfriend.
He has pleaded not guilty, and the defence claims that the acts were mutual.
Masterson, 46, did not appear in court. His attorney did not present any defence testimony, instead focusing on inconsistencies in the accounts of the three accusers.
All of whom he claimed changed their stories over time and spoke with each other before going to the police.
Oscar Winner Kevin Spacey faces rape charges in the UK.
According to U.K. prosecutors, actor Kevin Spacey will be charged with seven additional sex offences in Britain, all involving the same alleged victim. It brings the Hollywood star’s total number of charges in the United Kingdom to 12.
The Crown Prosecution Service in the United Kingdom announced Wednesday that the former “House of Cards” star faces three counts of indecent assault, three counts of sexual assault, and one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent. The charges stem from incidents that occurred between 2001 and 2004.
According to Rosemary Ainslie, head of the CPS Special Crime Division, the charges were approved after “a review of the evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police in its investigation.”
Spacey, a two-time Oscar winner, has already pleaded not guilty to charges that he sexually assaulted three men between 2004 and 2015 while serving as artistic director of London’s Old Vic theatre.
His trial will begin on June 6, 2023, and last three to four weeks. It will most likely occur at the Old Bailey, the site of Britain’s most high-profile criminal trials.
He also has a court hearing on the new charges on December 16.
After a preliminary hearing in June, Spacey, who has addresses in both London and the United States, was granted bail and allowed to return to the United States.
Spacey, 63, won an Academy Award for best-supporting actor for the 1995 film “The Usual Suspects” and a lead actor Oscar for the 1999 film “American Beauty.”
His illustrious career ended in 2017 when actor Anthony Rapp accused him of sexually assaulting him at a party in the 1980s when Rapp was a teenager. A jury in a civil trial in New York cleared Spacey of those allegations last month.
Danny Masterson Rape Case Riddled With Contradictions
