Current:Home > reviewsKevin Spacey's U.K. trial on sexual assault charges opens in London -FinTechWorld
Kevin Spacey's U.K. trial on sexual assault charges opens in London
View
Date:2025-04-23 08:04:46
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! (9692)
Related
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- Basketball powers Kansas and North Carolina will face each other in home-and-home series
- NFL record projections 2023: Which teams will lead the way to Super Bowl 58?
- Panel at National Press Club Discusses Clean Break
- A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
- Gerard Piqué Gets Cozy With Girlfriend Clara Chia Marti After Shakira Breakup
- Climate Change Threatens the World’s Fisheries, Food Billions of People Rely On
- We’re Investigating Heat Deaths and Illnesses in the Military. Tell Us Your Story.
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Blast off this August with 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3' exclusively on Disney+
Ranking
- Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
- Sydney Sweeney Makes Euphoric Appearance With Fiancé Jonathan Davino in Cannes
- Sun's out, ticks out. Lyme disease-carrying bloodsucker season is getting longer
- A flash in the pan? Just weeks after launch, Instagram Threads app is already faltering
- Sam Taylor
- Kate Spade 24-Hour Flash Deal: Get This $360 Tote Bag for Just $76
- Chris Christie: Trump knows he's in trouble in documents case, is his own worst enemy
- States Look to Establish ‘Green Banks’ as Federal Cash Dries Up
Recommendation
Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
Toddlers and Tiaras' Eden Wood Is All Grown Up Graduating High School As Valedictorian
Court Rejects Pipeline Rubber-Stamp, Orders Climate Impact Review
'I am hearing anti-aircraft fire,' says a doctor in Sudan as he depicts medical crisis
Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
Your First Look at American Ninja Warrior Season 15's Most Insane Course Ever
The Luann and Sonja: Welcome to Crappie Lake Trailer Is More Wild Than We Imagined
Dorian One of Strongest, Longest-Lasting Hurricanes on Record in the Atlantic