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US actor Kevin Spacey denies sexual assault charges at London trial

First modification: 17/06/2022 – 00:11

US actor Kevin Spacey on Thursday “strongly” denied accusations of sexually assaulting three men in the United Kingdom, appearing in a London court and being released until a new hearing in July.

Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey appeared in a British court on Thursday to face charges of sexual assault, after being charged by London police earlier this week.

The 62-year-old ‘House of Cards’ star, whose career has been hampered by a series of allegations since the Weinstein case, appeared calm and confident at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

Arriving by car, Kevin Spacey was greeted by a swarm of photographers and cameras, smiling but not commenting. He left in the same way after a brief audience of half an hour.

“Mr. Spacey strongly denies any criminal act”

He spoke briefly at the beginning of the hearing to state his identity and his London address, and the charges against him were then read out. “Mr. Spacey strongly denies any criminal wrongdoing in this matter,” said his attorney, Patrick Gibbs. “He must answer these charges to get on with his life,” he added.

Finding that he had come forward voluntarily, Judge Tan Ikram decided to release him until a further hearing on 14 July at Southwark Crown Court in London.

Despite his “full cooperation” with the investigation, the Prosecutor’s Office had asked that he be released on parole with the obligation to remain in London, but his defense argued that the actor lives in the United States, where he has a family and a dog. nine years.

Four counts of sexual assault

The brief hearing, devoted to procedural issues, kicked off what is shaping up to be a lengthy legal battle. Kevin Spacey is on trial for four sexual assaults on three men, whose names have not been released, between March 2005 and April 2013.

He is also charged with forcing one of them to engage in penetrative sex without his consent, a separate charge from rape (which involves penetration with the penis) under English law.

Some of the acts would have taken place in the London neighborhood of Lambeth, where the Old Vic theater is located, of which he was artistic director between 2004 and 2015. After the British prosecution approved the accusation, the actor declared “disappointed” but announced his intention to appear in British court to “prove his innocence”.

A pause in his career

These accusations, after others in the United States, had come in the wake of the #MeToo movement and the Weinstein scandal, named after the American film producer in the spotlight for numerous allegations of sexual harassment and assault, revealed in the fall of 2017.

They have taken a heavy toll on the two-time Oscar-winning actor’s career and reputation (for ‘American Beauty’ and ‘Usual Suspects’). Having worked in theater before becoming a film actor, he was dropped by Netflix from the hit series ‘House of Cards’, where he played the lead.

His big comeback to the cinema, in the film ‘L’uomo Che Disegno Dio’ (‘The Man Who Draws God’), was however announced last year.

In his home country, Kevin Spacey was accused of indecent assault and sexual assault in the state of Massachusetts, on the east coast. He was accused of having put, in July 2016, his hands on the sex of an 18-year-old employee in a bar, after having made him drink. But the charges were dropped in July 2019.

In late May, he appeared before a New York judge for a trial hearing in a civil lawsuit brought by actor Anthony Rapp, who had accused him of sexually propositioning her as a teenager. Kevin Spacey denied the allegations and the criminal case was dropped.

*With AFP and Reuters; adapted from its original French version

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