(London) The American actor Kevin Spacey was described Friday as a “sexual harasser” by the prosecution, at his trial in London where he is accused of sexual assaults on four men, which he denies.
Kevin Spacey is “a man who doesn’t respect boundaries or personal space”, who “enjoys making others […] uncomfortable, a sexual harasser, ”said the representative of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS, the British prosecution), Christine Agnew.
After the selection of the jury and the statement of the charges on Wednesday, the floor was Friday morning for the prosecution.
The Hollywood star has pleaded not guilty to all 12 charges against him, including several acts of sexual assault on four men between 2001 and 2013.
None of the alleged victims can be identified, under the law in England.
The actor, twice Oscar winner for his roles in American Beauty And Usual Suspectsis accused of sexually assaulting three men between March 2005 and April 2013 when he was manager of London’s Old Vic theatre.
The representative of the prosecution described the various attacks of which these men accuse Kevin Spacey. The actor allegedly “touched (one of them) inappropriately […] trying to grab his butt” and that “on several occasions, Kevin Spacey grabbed (this man’s) genitals through his clothes”, without his consent.
Kevin Spacey is also accused of assaulting another man between 2001 and 2004, including forcing him to engage in non-consensual sex.
According to the prosecution, the alleged victim, after being invited by Kevin Spacey for a drink in an apartment, fell asleep and then woke up when she realized that the actor was performing oral sex on her. Despite his refusal, he would have continued and the victim would have pushed him away, before leaving the apartment.
These accusations emerged in 2017 at the start of the #metoo movement, when Kevin Spacey was at the height of his fame, leading interpreter of the hit Netflix series House of Cards. In the process, he was landed from the series and other projects in which they were to participate.
Also accused of sexual assault in the United States, he was found not guilty last year in one of his cases by a New York civil court. And in 2019, the charges were dropped in another case.