Kevin Spacey ‘vigorously denies’ sexual assault charges against him in London, one of his lawyers said on Thursday as the famous actor was due to appear in court to face five charges relating to three victims.
Photographers and TV cameras swarmed the 62-year-old defendant as he arrived at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, London, for his preliminary inquiry.
During the hearing of about thirty minutes, Mr. Spacey was seated in the glass box. He stood up to say his full name — Kevin Spacey Fowler — along with his date of birth and his London address.
He did not have to enter a plea, but his lawyer Patrick Gibbs said his client “vigorously denies any criminality”.
Associate Chief Justice Tan Ikram granted Mr Spacey unconditional discharge pending his next court appearance scheduled for July 14. At that time, he would have to submit a plea of guilty or not guilty to the court.
The former star of the series House of Cards is charged with four counts of sexual assault and one of forcing a person to engage in penetrative sex without their consent.
The alleged facts would have taken place in London between March 2005 and August 2008. Another incident would have occurred in the west of England in April 2013. The victims are now aged in their thirties and forties.
In a statement released last month, Kevin Spacey promised he would travel to London to face the charges against him and said he was confident he could “prove (his) innocence”.
The accused had been questioned by British investigators in 2019 about the denunciations of several men who claimed to have been assaulted. The double Oscar winner ran the Old Vic theater in London from 2004 to 2015.
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