Danny Masterson’s rape case has been declared a mistrial

A judge on Wednesday ordered a mistrial in Danny Masterson’s rape case because the jury couldn’t make a decision on whether the actor was innocent or guilty.

During the five-week trial, jurors heard testimonies from several alleged victims, including a woman who said she thought she was “dying” when she claimed the former That ’70s Show star choked her in April 2003 and raped.

Masterson, 46, was charged with three counts of violent rape in incidents between 2001 and 2003 involving three accusers.

Prosecutors must now decide whether to try Masterson again.

Although Scientology was not a named defendant in this trial, the victims testified of the fear and alienation they felt in reporting a prominent member of the church like Masterson.

The victims, who were also members of Scientology at the time of the incidents, said their religious practices did not allow them to view the incidents as rape.

One of the women, Jen B., testified that when she attempted to report Masterson to other members of the church, she was told to “stop blaming Masterson” because, according to Scientology, “you never be a victim be able. Nothing happens to you without it being your fault.”

Jen B. also testified that she was unconscious and woke up to Masterson lying on top of her, his penis in her vagina. She said she tried to push the actor away but he pulled her hair. At one point Masterson put his hand around her neck.

Jen B. said she thought she was “dying. That he would kill me.”

Jen B. also testified that after the incident she was given a choice – either sign a $400,000 non-disclosure agreement or risk being disfellowshipped from Scientology, her family and friends.

Chrissie B., another prosecutor who was a former girlfriend of the actor, told jurors she met Masterson at a party in 1996 when she had just turned 18. About a year into the relationship, Chrissie B. said Masterson had become emotionally and sexually abusive.

She said Masterson twice raped her in the Hollywood Hills home they shared in 2011. In one of the incidents, Chrissie B. said she woke up with Masterson’s full weight on top of her. Despite screams and objections, Chrissie B. said Masterson continued to rape her.

She also testified that Masterson would urinate on her in the shower, which he found funny.

Chrissie also testified that when she refused to have sex after a long flight from Paris, the actor pulled her hair across the floor. She also testified that Masterson once hit her and told her she was “ethically unethical…I was a potential troublemaker,” which was a Scientology term for someone causing trouble.

Masterson did not comment during the trial.

In his closing argument, defense attorney Philip Cohen said the prosecutors’ reports were “contradictions and fabrications” and that Scientology was mentioned more than 700 times during the trial, according to Variety.

“We’ve listened to Scientology over and over again – so many times it’s become an excuse,” Cohen told the jury. “If someone didn’t remember something or someone was contradicted, it was Scientology.”