Kevin Spacey is charged with new sexual assaults
New charges weigh on the American actor who appeared in a London court on Friday, a few months after other similar charges.
Kevin Spacey is accused of sexually assaulting a man between 2001 and 2004 (file photo).
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American actor Kevin Spacey appeared in a London court on Friday to answer new charges of sexual assault in the early 2000s, months after pleading not guilty to other similar charges.
The 63-year-old Hollywood star attended this very short procedural hearing remotely from a location in the Middle East, according to his lawyer Patrick Gibbs.
Dressed in a dark jacket, white shirt, sky blue tie and seated in front of a gray curtain, he simply confirmed his identity, date of birth and gave an address in London.
The next hearing is scheduled for January 13, and the actor, who faces seven charges, is expected to attend, his lawyer said. He remains at liberty unconditionally until then.
Kevin Spacey is accused of sexually assaulting a man between 2001 and 2004, including forcing that person “to engage in non-consensual sexual intercourse,” the Crown prosecutor’s office said last month ( SPC). The latter then authorized the police to add seven new charges to the already heavy file against Kevin Spacey.
The two-time Oscar winner (for “American Beauty” and “Usual Suspects”) has already been prosecuted for four sexual assaults on three men between March 2005 and April 2013, when he was director of the London theater Old Vic.
Heard in July during a preliminary hearing on these facts, for which he had made the trip to London, he had pleaded not guilty.
The trial is to be held in June 2023. After the green light from the prosecution, the actor said he was “disappointed” but announced his intention to appear before British justice to “prove his innocence”.
In total, the actor must therefore now respond to the United Kingdom for twelve charges in connection with sexual assault.
Effet #MeToo
The charges against him were made in the wake of the #MeToo movement and the Weinstein scandal, named after the American film producer convicted after numerous accusations of harassment and sexual assault, revealed in the fall of 2017.
They had serious consequences on the actor’s career, since he was notably landed by Netflix from the hit series “House of Cards” where he played the main character.
Kevin Spacey has also faced charges in the United States.
In October, the comedian was found not guilty of sexual assault by a New York civil court. Actor Anthony Rapp accused him of molesting him 36 years ago at a party in Manhattan.
Kevin Spacey vigorously contested these accusations, but this case was an opportunity for him to reveal his homosexuality.
Also in the United States, Kevin Spacey has been charged with indecent assault and sexual assault on an 18-year-old young man in a bar in the state of Massachusetts, on the east coast. The charges were dropped in July 2019.
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