Current:Home > ScamsKevin Spacey acquitted of all 9 sexual assault charges by jury in UK trial-LoTradeCoin
Kevin Spacey acquitted of all 9 sexual assault charges by jury in UK trial
View Date:2024-12-23 22:30:19
A London jury acquitted Kevin Spacey of sexual assault charges Wednesday.
The "House of Cards" actor, 64, was cleared at the conclusion of a four-week long trial that took place in London, beginning June 28. The Academy Award-winner, whose stellar acting career was derailed by sex assault allegations, was accused of sexual offenses against four men in Britain.
Tears rolled down Spacey’s cheeks as the final “not guilty” verdict was read. It was his 64th birthday.
There were nine charges against Spacey, who pleaded not guilty to all, including multiple counts of sexual and indecent assault and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent. He had faced 13 charges until July 19, when the judge removed four counts that duplicated the same allegations under an older statute.
Three men accused the actor 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.
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 theater, his first love. During most of that period he was artistic director of the Old Vic Theatre in London.
Kevin Spacey UK sexual assault trial:Actor's charges, case explained
During the trial, 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."
Spacey choked up and became teary eyed in the witness box as he described the emotional and financial turmoil that the U.S. accusations brought and the barrage of criticism that followed on social media.
"My world exploded," Spacey testified. "There was a rush to judgment and before the first question was asked or answered I lost my job, I lost my reputation, I lost everything in a matter of days."
A New York jury last year swiftly cleared Spacey in a $40 million lawsuit by "Star Trek: Discovery" actor Anthony Rapp on allegations dating back three decades.
Spacey had viewed the London case as a chance for redemption, telling German magazine Zeit last month that there were "people right now who are ready to hire me the moment I am cleared of these charges in London."
Contributing: USA TODAY staff, The Associated Press
veryGood! (4)
Related
- NBPA reaches Kyle Singler’s family after cryptic Instagram video draws concern
- Underdiagnosed and undertreated, young Black males with ADHD get left behind
- Louisiana police chief facing charge of aggravated battery involving 2022 arrest, state police say
- Killer whales sink yacht after 45-minute attack, Polish tour company says
- BITFII Introduce
- Man charged in shooting over Spanish conquistador statue appeals detention order pending trial
- To help 2024 voters, Meta says it will begin labeling political ads that use AI-generated imagery
- Timbaland Apologizes for Saying Justin Timberlake Should've “Put a Muzzle” on Britney Spears
- Too Hot to Handle’s Francesca Farago Gives Birth, Welcomes Twins With Jesse Sullivan
- Nobel peace laureate Bialiatski has been put in solitary confinement in Belarus, his wife says
Ranking
- California man allegedly shot couple and set their bodies, Teslas on fire in desert
- Patrick Dempsey named Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine
- Possible leak of Nashville shooter's writings before Covenant School shooting under investigation
- House advances effort to censure Rashida Tlaib over her rhetoric about the Israel-Hamas war
- World leaders aim to shape Earth's future at COP29 climate change summit
- Chile president calls for referendum on new constitution proposal drafted by conservative councilors
- Paul McCartney has ‘a thing for older ladies,’ more revelations in ‘The Lyrics’ paperback
- Why Michael Strahan Has Been MIA From Good Morning America
Recommendation
-
Tom Brady Admits He Screwed Up as a Dad to Kids With Bridget Moynahan and Gisele Bündchen
-
Why It Took The Crown's Elizabeth Debicki 30 Hours to Transform Into Princess Diana
-
Activist hands ICC evidence he says implicates Belarus president in transfer of Ukrainian children
-
Arizona woman dead after elk tramples her in Hualapai Mountains, park officials say
-
DWTS' Sasha Farber Claps Back at Diss From Jenn Tran's Ex Devin Strader
-
WeWork — once one of the world's hottest startups — declares bankruptcy
-
Powerball winning numbers for Nov. 6: Jackpot now at $196 million
-
Timbaland Apologizes for Saying Justin Timberlake Should've “Put a Muzzle” on Britney Spears