Berkeley Trial: Mistrial Declared in Rape Case of Sleeping Woman

OAKLAND, CA — A mistrial was declared Tuesday in the trial of a man accused raping a female acquaintance while she was sleeping at his apartment near the University of California at Berkeley campus more than two years ago.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Gloria Rhynes declared the mistrial for 24-year-old William Joseph Ryan III after jurors said they were deadlocked following two and a half days of deliberations.

Ryan, who's free on bail, is scheduled to return to court on July 28 to have a date set for a new trial.

In her closing argument in Ryan's trial on Friday, prosecutor Emily Tienken said jurors should "hold him responsible for what he did and took away from her (the alleged victim) with his actions."

Tienken said Ryan "couldn't possibly think she was awake" when he had sex with her.

The interaction between Ryan and the young woman occurred in the early morning hours of April 8, 2015, after her car got locked inside a Berkeley parking garage and she accepted an offer from Ryan, who she knew as an acquaintance, to sleep at his apartment in the 1900 block of Oxford Street until the garage reopened.

The police report in the case indicates that the woman went to bed and Ryan curled up next to her and held her hand but at 6:30 a.m. she woke up to find him raping her.

Ryan's lawyers argued that the woman sent "mixed signals" and he interpreted their curling up together as a signal that she liked him and wanted to have sex with him.

But Tienken said the woman was asleep, wasn't aware of what Ryan was doing and didn't voluntarily take her clothes off.

Tienken said Ryan only pulled the woman's pants down enough to the point where he could have intercourse with her.

The prosecutor said that after the encounter the woman felt "violated and very upset."

Tienken said that after Ryan raped the woman "he attempted to blame the victim and say that she asked for it."

Elizabeth Grossman, Ryan's lead attorney, declined to comment on the mistrial today and Tienken couldn't be reached for comment.

— Bay City News; Image via Shutterstock