Danny Masterson Requests Judge To Dismiss Rape Case Following Mistrial

Danny Masterson was accused of raping three women from 2001 to 2003 in 2017. His trial for three counts of rape began on October 11 and on November 30, 2022, a judge announced a hung jury, just days after it had been revealed that the jury was unable to reach a verdict. However, according to recent reports, Danny has requested that the court exercise its “discretion” and dismiss the allegations against him.

The court advised them to start from the beginning after Thanksgiving and two jury members were substituted as the previous ones got COVID. According to The Wrap, after the new jury delivered their conclusions to the judge on November 30, they came to the conclusion that Danny could not be held guilty. He would have required to be found guilty in at least two of the charged cases in order to be prosecuted under California’s statute of limitations, which prohibits the prosecution of individual accusations of sexual assault as old as those against Danny. So, it was ruled that the trial was a mistrial.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Masterson’s attorney Philip Kent Cohen pointed out in a filing this week that although a defendant cannot lawfully move for dismissal, his client does have the option of asking that the court use its discretion and dismiss the allegations against him.

“If the evidence will not materially change and a retrial is likely to result in acquittal or another hung jury, the fact suggests that dismissal would be in the interest of justice. Immediately following the pronouncement of a hung jury, the deliberating jurors, as well as the alternate, spoke freely and candidly in the jury room with all trial counsel.

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The clear sentiment of the jurors, virtually to a person, was that there were significant evidentiary and credibility problems with the government’s case. And while there was disagreement as to the ultimate vote, on one thing the jurors all appeared to agree — no reasonable jury was ever going to come to a unanimous finding of guilt on any count.”

The actor was sued in 2019 by three women who had alleged him of sexual assault back in 2017. Danny was detained the very next year on three rape charges from incidents in 2003. Danny has previously attempted to have the case dismissed, but he has been unsuccessful. A trial that was supposed to start in Los Angeles in August was postponed until October. As the case is currently ongoing, keep an eye on Thirsty for the latest updates.

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