Kevin Spacey Found Not Guilty of Sexual Assault in U.K. Trial
Embattled actor Kevin Spacey has been cleared of all charges of sexual assault after a four-week trial at Southwark Crown Court in London, RadarOnline.com can confirm.
The 64-year-old Hollywood star reportedly had tears in his eyes as the jury found him not guilty of seven counts of sexual assault, one count of indecent assault, and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity on Wednesday afternoon.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, the allegations against Spacey covered a nearly ten-year period of time between 2004 and 2013 when the actor served as the artistic director at the Old Vic Theater in London.
Spacey previously pleaded not guilty to all the charges, and he reportedly thanked the jury for their verdict after 12 hours and 26 minutes of deliberation over a period of three days.
The jury, who had been sent out to consider the verdicts on Monday at 12:45 PM local time, returned on Wednesday to deliver their ruling. Justice Mark Wall presided over the trial proceedings.
Throughout the trial, prosecutor Christine Agnew portrayed Spacey as a "sexual bully" who derived pleasure from making others feel powerless and uncomfortable.
Spacey, on the other hand, called the charges "madness" and "a stab in the back."
The four accusers presented their cases against Spacey during the trial.
One of them accused the actor of grabbing his hand and placing it on his crotch while they were sitting together in a car, while another accuser alleged that Spacey assaulted him at a charity event hosted by Elton John by forcefully grabbing his leg and crotch in a painful manner.
A third accuser claimed that Spacey approached him and hugged him before kissing his neck, grabbing his crotch, and squeezing it while telling him to "be cool." The accuser claimed he left the party shortly after and called his father to pick him up.
The most serious accusation was made by the fourth accuser – an aspiring actor who alleged that Spacey sexually assaulted him after inviting him to his London apartment.
The accuser claimed to have been drugged by Spacey and said he woke up to find the actor performing a sexual act on him. Spacey, however, described the encounter as "consensual” and “a very nice and lovely evening."
Under questioning from Spacey’s defense attorney, Patrick Gibbs, all of the accusers denied seeking financial gain or attempting to further their careers by making false accounts.
As RadarOnline.com reported, Spacey’s trial in England followed a previous case in New York where he was found not liable for battery after allegations he picked up actor Anthony Rapp and laid on top of him after a party in 1986.
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