Oscar-winning American actor Kevin Spacey appeared in a London courtroom on Wednesday to face a dozen sex crimes allegedly committed more than a decade ago.
The 63-year-old Hollywood star from ‘American Beauty’ and television series ‘House of Cards’ is on trial for four weeks at Southwark Crown Court in South London.
Dozens of photographers and journalists were waiting for him outside the courthouse. The actor arrived by taxi with his legal team and, according to an AFP journalist, made a relaxed impression.
Spacey has been released on bail since his first appearance in a British court last year.
Due to the large number of accusations of sexual crimes against him – although he has not been convicted of anything – the actor’s career was interrupted.
Last year, he appeared in London court at Old Bailey to plead not guilty to five crimes against three men, including four charges of assault and one charge of inciting penetrative sexual activity without consent.
The crimes reportedly took place in 2005 and 2008 in London and in 2013 in Gloucestershire, western England.
In November, prosecutors announced seven additional charges involving another man, bringing the total number of charges against Spacey in the UK to 12.
The new charges, allegedly committed between 2001 and 2004, relate to three counts of indecent assault, three counts of sexual assault and one count of solicitation of nonconsensual sexual activity.
Spacey, whose full name is Kevin Spacey Fowler, appeared in Southwark Crown Court in January to deny all the new allegations. He only made statements to confirm his identity and make the charges of innocence.
None of the alleged victims can be identified under English law and reporting restrictions prevent further details from being released ahead of trial.
Spacey has had a very successful career with roles as a middle-aged father in “American Beauty”, a serial killer in “Se7en” and the villain in “Superman Returns”. Between 2004 and 2015 he worked as artistic director at the Old Vic Theater in London.
In 2017, he was one of the first Hollywood stars to be targeted by the global #MeToo movement after being accused of sexual assault by several young people.
Spacey was dropped from the cast of the last season of the series “House of Cards”, as well as other projects.
Last year, a New York court dismissed a $40 million sexual misconduct lawsuit filed against Spacey.
The accuser, actor Anthony Rapp, alleged that the actor assaulted him when he was just 14 years old. He decided to file the civil suit after being informed that it was too late to file criminal charges.
As early as 2019, charges of sexual assault and assault were dropped against Spacey in Massachusetts.
In court, Spacey denied all allegations of sexual assault.
Source: DN
