Kevin Spacey appeared at London’s Old Bailey court on Thursday morning, where he pleaded not guilty to all five counts of sexual assault. This marked the actor’s second UK court appearance in a month, where he formally pleaded not guilty to all five charges that were read out to him. The actor is to remain on unconditional bail until the trial commences next year.
The charges against the former House of Cards star consist of four counts of sexual assault against three men who are now in their 30s and 40s between 2005 and 2013. Spacey has reportedly also been charged with “causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.” The actor’s UK trial is set to begin on June 6, 2023, and may last for three to four weeks.
At last month’s hearing, the actor wasn’t invited to give a formal plea and instead his lawyer Patrick Gibbs QC said the actor “strenuously denies any and all criminality in this case”, via The Hollywood Reporter. Spacey had been a big name in Hollywood and has also been a two-time Oscar winner for his performances in The Usual Suspects and American Beauty. Although the actor’s career came to standstill after he was accused of assault in 2017 by actor Anthony Rapp who claimed that Spacey assaulted him at a party in the 1980s, when Rapp was a teenager. Spacey denies the allegations.
It has been reported that Anthony Rapp’s lawsuit is all set to go to trial in October in New York federal court after a judge rejected Spacey’s request to dismiss the civil suit.
