(London) Actor Kevin Spacey pleaded not guilty on Thursday in the UK to charges of sexually assaulting three men a decade or more ago, and will stand trial next year.
Posted at 6:36 a.m.
Spacey, 62, stood up from the dock and clearly declared “not guilty” to each of the five charges, during a hearing in London.
Judge Mark Wall has set June 6, 2023 as the start of the trial, which is expected to last three to four weeks. It is likely to take place at the ‘Old Bailey’, the site of Britain’s most publicized criminal trials.
The former star of House of Cardswho ran London’s famed ‘Old Vic’ theater between 2004 and 2015, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of sexual assault and one count of inciting a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent .
The crimes were allegedly committed in London between March 2005 and August 2008, then another in the west of England in April 2013. The alleged victims are now between 30 and 40 years old. Spacey’s lawyer had previously indicated that the actor “vigorously denied” the alleged facts.
At a preliminary hearing last month, Spacey, who has addresses in London and the United States, was released on bail and allowed to return to the United States. The judge upheld this release on unconditional bail on Thursday; he indicated that another preliminary hearing would take place in early 2023.
Spacey thanked the judge at the end of the 15-minute hearing. He made no comment as he left the court.
Kevin Spacey won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for the film The Usual Suspects (1995) and the Oscar for best actor for the film American Beauty (1999).
But his famous career, continued in House of Cards, came to an abrupt halt in 2017 when actor Anthony Rapp accused him of assaulting him at a party in the 1980s — Mr. Rapp was then a teenager. Spacey denies the allegations.
Kevin Spacey is facing a separate civil suit, alleging sexual assault by Mr. Rapp, in US federal court in New York.