A London jury acquitted Kevin Spacey on sexual assault charges on Wednesday after a four-week trial in which the actor said he was a “big flirt” who had consensual flings with men and whose only misstep was touching a man’s groin while making a “clumsy pass.”
Three men accused the Oscar winner of aggressively grabbing their crotches. A fourth, an aspiring actor seeking mentorship, said he awoke to the actor performing oral sex on him after going to Spacey’s London apartment for a beer and either falling asleep or passing out.
Defense lawyer Patrick Gibbs said three of the men were liars and incidents had been “reimagined with a sinister spin.” He accused most of them of hopping on a “bandwagon” of complaints in the hope of striking it rich. The accusations date from 2001 to 2013 and include a period when Spacey — after winning Academy Awards for “The Usual Suspects” and “American Beauty” — had returned to the theater, his first love. During most of that period he was artistic director of the Old Vic Theatre in London.
One of the men broke down when speaking with police as he provided details in a videotaped interview about the oral sex incident that he said he’d never told anyone before. Another man said he was angry about the abuse that occurred sporadically over several years and began to drink and work out more to cope with it.
Gibbs said Spacey was being “monstered” on the internet every night and became toxic in the industry.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Jury in Kevin Spacey’s sexual assault trial ends 1st day of deliberations in LondonKevin Spacey, 63, has pleaded not guilty to nine charges, including multiple counts of sexual assault and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.
Read more »
Jury out in actor Kevin Spacey's London sexual offences trialThe jury in Kevin Spacey's sexual assault trial in London retired to consider their verdicts. The US actor is standing trial on nine charges of sexual offenses against four men between 2004 and 2013 in Britain
Read more »
Kevin Spacey Sexual Assault Trial: Jury Begins DeliberationsThe jury in Kevin Spacey’s sexual assault trial in London began deliberations on Monday, July 24.
Read more »
Jury in Kevin Spacey's sexual assault trial ends 1st day of deliberationsJurors in the sexual assault trial of Kevin Spacey retired to begin deliberations today on allegations against the actor by four men that date back two decades.
Read more »
Kevin Spacey trial: Everything to know as jury deliberates verdictActor Kevin Spacey is awaiting a verdict from a British jury working to determine if he is guilty of several sexual offenses, a decision that could result in a career-ending jail sentence for the two-time Oscar winner.
Read more »