(London) The trial of American actor Kevin Spacey for sexual assaults he allegedly committed between 2001 and 2013 on four men, which he denies, opened on Wednesday in London in his presence.
Kevin Spacey has pleaded not guilty to all 12 charges against him which were revealed in the wake of the movement
The actor arrived with his lawyers shortly after 3 a.m. EST, more than two hours before the start of the hearing. Dressed in a blue suit and a light tie, he quickly waved to the dozens of journalists present before entering the court.
The first morning of the hearing, at Southwark Crown Court, south London, was devoted to the selection of jurors and the settlement of procedural details. The judge also detailed all 12 charges against Kevin Spacey.
The floor will be with the accusation Friday morning for the continuation of this trial which must last a month.
The actor, twice Oscar winner for his roles in American Beauty and Usual Suspects, was first prosecuted last summer for four sexual assaults on three men between March 2005 and April 2013 when he was manager of London’s Old Vic theater .
In November 2022, the prosecution was expanded to include another case, in which he is accused of sexually assaulting a man between 2001 and 2004, including forcing him “to engage in non-consensual sex”, according to the Crown Attorney’s office.
Other charges against the actor include forcing a person into sexual intercourse with non-consensual penetration, or several intentional and sexual touching of another person without their consent.
None of his alleged victims can be identified, under the law in England.
Already heard at several preliminary hearings, for which he had traveled in person or appeared by videoconference, Kevin Spacey Fowler, his real name, pleaded not guilty to all of the charges against him.
After the green light from the prosecution, the actor said he was “disappointed”, but announced his intention to appear before the British courts to “prove his innocence”.
These accusations emerged in 2017 at the start of the movement
Actor who became famous for his roles as antiheroes or frankly wicked, Kevin Spacey has since disappeared from the screens.
“Right now, a lot of people are afraid of being ostracized (cancelled) if they support me,” the actor said in mid-June in a rare interview with German media Zeit ahead of his trial.
“But I know there are others who are ready to hire me as soon as I am cleared of the charges in London,” he adds.
Also accused several times in the United States, he has so far never been convicted.
Accused of sexual touching by actor Anthony Rapp in the United States, during a party dating back to 1986, he was found not guilty last October by a New York civil court.
He had also been charged with indecent assault and sexual assault on an 18-year-old young man in a Massachusetts bar, but the American justice dropped the charges in July 2019, due to the “unavailability of the plaintiff” who refused to answer questions about messages he allegedly deleted from his cell phone.
