Current:Home > NewsKevin Spacey's U.K. trial on sexual assault charges opens in London -TruePath Finance
Kevin Spacey's U.K. trial on sexual assault charges opens in London
View
Date:2025-04-17 23:23:20
London – Kevin Spacey's trial began Wednesday in London, with the Hollywood actor facing charges of sexual assault, indecent assault and a more serious offense of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Spacey has pleaded not guilty to all of the 12 charges against him.
The 63-year-old arrived at London's Southwark Crown Court and smiled and waved at media gathered outside the building as he waked in.
As the proceedings began, the judge laid out ground rules for members of the jury, acknowledging the case had "attracted a lot of media coverage," and urging jurists to "rely on what you see and hear in this courtroom."
The trial is expected to last four weeks, and little more was likely to come out of Wednesday's opening hearing. The prosecution was to address the court on Friday.
Spacey has repeatedly denied the allegations made by four men who are now in their 30s and 40s over acts they accuse Spacey of committing during a 12-year period between 2001 and 2013. Some of the charges date back to a period when the actor was the artistic director at London's Old Vic Theatre, a position he held for more than a decade before his departure in 2015.
The alleged victims cannot be identified under English law.
An internal 2017 investigation by the theater resulted in 20 anonymous claims of alleged inappropriate behavior by Spacey during his time as its artistic director.
The Oscar-winner's "stardom and status at The Old Vic may have prevented people, and in particular junior staff or young actors, from feeling that they could speak up or raise a hand for help," a statement from the Old Vic said at the time.
Spacey's glittering Hollywood career largely came to an end in 2017 when actor Anthony Rapp publicly accused him of sexual misconduct in a separate case, alleging that Spacey had targeted him when he was just 14 years old.
In October last year, a New York court dismissed a $40 million civil suit brought against Spacey by Rapp for alleged sexual misconduct dating back to the late 1980s. A judge had ruled separately that Rapp brought the case too late for criminal charges.
Charges of indecent assault and battery were also dropped against the actor in a separate case in Massachusetts in 2019, after a young man who had accused him declined to testify in the case.
In an interview earlier this month with German magazine Zeit, Spacey insisted that it was his work that "will be remembered," and he expressed a desire to revive his career should he be cleared of the charges against him in the U.K.
"I know that there are people right now who are ready to hire me the moment I am cleared of these charges in London. The second that happens, they're ready to move forward," Spacey said.
- In:
- Hollywood
- Rape
- Sexual Assault
- Academy Awards
- Sexual Misconduct
- Trial
- United Kingdom
- London
- Kevin Spacey
veryGood! (9732)
Related
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Descendants fight to maintain historic Black communities. Keeping their legacy alive is complicated
- Pistons are woefully bad. Their rebuild is failing, their future looks bleak. What gives?
- Nevada high court upholds sex abuse charges against ‘Dances With Wolves’ actor Nathan Chasing Horse
- 'Most Whopper
- Give the Gift of Travel This Holiday Season With Rare Deals on Away Luggage
- Firefighters rescue a Georgia quarry worker who spent hours trapped and partially buried in gravel
- Fantasy football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: 16 players to start or sit in Week 16
- Meet first time Grammy nominee Charley Crockett
- Why Kelly Osbourne Says She Wants Plastic Surgery for Christmas
Ranking
- Selena Gomez engaged to Benny Blanco after 1 year together: 'Forever begins now'
- How that (spoiler!) cameo in Trevor Noah’s new Netflix special came to be
- George Santos says he'll be back — and other takeaways from his Ziwe interview
- Christian McCaffrey can't hide from embarrassing video clip of infamous flop vs. Eagles
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- North Carolina’s 2024 election maps are racially biased, advocates say in lawsuit
- Animal cruelty charges spur calls for official’s resignation in Pennsylvania county
- Flooding continues across Northeast; thousands still without power: Live updates
Recommendation
All That You Wanted to Know About She’s All That
Former Haitian senator sentenced to life in prison in 2021 assassination of Haiti’s president
Jennifer Love Hewitt Slams Sexualization of Her Younger Self
Immigration and declines in death cause uptick in US population growth this year
Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
Alabama man with parrot arrested in Florida after police say he was high on mushrooms
ACLU of Montana challenges law defining the word ‘sex’ in state code as only male or female
Group turned away at Mexican holiday party returned with gunmen killing 11, investigators say