Diana Dasrath is entertainment producer and senior reporter for NBC News covering all platforms.
Corky Siemaszko is a senior writer for NBC News Digital.
LOS ANGELES — The jury weighing the rape charges against “That ‘70s Show” star Danny Masterson announced Wednesday it was hopelessly deadlocked and a mistrial was declared.
Masterson, 46, was charged with raping three women at his Hollywood Hills home from 2001 to 2003 and faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted on all three counts.
The actor has denied all the allegations leveled against him by the three women, who are all former members of the Church of Scientology, to which the actor still belongs.
Masterson has also denied assaulting a fourth woman, identified as Jane Doe #4, who told the court she too had been raped by him. While the judge allowed testimony by Jane Doe #4, Masterson was not criminally charged with raping her.
The announcement came on the sixth day of deliberations and after Los Angeles County Superior Court Charlaine F. Olmedo had given the panel Thanksgiving week off.
The panel, on Nov. 18, sent Olmedo a note saying they had been “unable to reach a unanimous decision” on any of the three forcible rape counts against Masterson.
“You have been deliberating for an insufficient amount of time,” Olmedo said before excusing them for the holiday break.
This is a developing story, please check back for updates.
