Kevin Spacey granted bail in Britain over sexual assault allegations
LONDON — Kevin Spacey intends to prove he is innocent of sexual offenses, his lawyer said Thursday, as the Oscar-winning actor appeared in a London court Thursday to face charges of offenses against three men.
Photographers and television camera crews thronged around Spacey, 62, as he arrived at London’s Westminster Magistrates Court for the preliminary hearing.
Spacey sat in the glass-fronted dock during the half-hour hearing, standing to give his full name, Kevin Spacey Fowler, as well as his birthdate and a London address.
He was not asked to enter a formal plea, but his lawyer, Patrick Gibbs, said: “Mr. Spacey strenuously denies any and all criminality in this case.â€
Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram granted Spacey unconditional bail until his next appearance, a plea hearing scheduled for July 14.
The former “House of Cards†star is accused of four counts of sexual assault and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.
A judge says a sex assault civil lawsuit against actor Kevin Spacey can proceed in New York City.
The alleged incidents took place in London between March 2005 and August 2008, and one in western England in April 2013. The alleged victims are now in their 30s and 40s.
In a statement issued last month, Spacey said he would go to court to face the charges and was confident he would “prove my innocence.â€
Spacey was questioned by British police in 2019 about claims by several men that he had assaulted them. The two-time Academy Award winner ran London’s Old Vic theater from 2004 to 2015.
Spacey won a best supporting actor Oscar for the 1995 film “The Usual Suspects†and a lead actor Oscar for the 1999 movie “American Beauty.â€
But his celebrated career came to an abrupt halt in 2017 when actor Anthony Rapp accused the star of assaulting him at a party in the 1980s, when Rapp was a teenager. Spacey denies the allegations.
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