US actor Kevin Spacey cleared in sex assault trial
US actor Kevin Spacey has been cleared of wrongdoing in a sex assault trial in New York. The actor was accused by Anthony Rapp of an incident that allegedly happened back in 1986 when Rapp was just 14 years old. Rapp says the actor climbed on top of him in a bed after a party and grabbed his buttocks, pressing his groin into Rapp’s body without his consent. Rapp claimed he suffered emotional distress after the alleged incident. But, a New York jury found Spacey not liable for battery after deliberating for about one hour.
The jury says Rapp did not prove that Spacey “touched a sexual or intimate part” of Rapp. Judge Lewis Kaplan formally dismissed the emotional distress part of the case, leaving the jury to only deliberate the battery accusation. According to CNN, one of Spacey’s attorneys spoke about the case when leaving the court.
“We are very grateful to the jury for seeing through these false allegations.”
CNN Legal Analyst Paul Callan says Spacey isn’t out of the woods as he faces as many as 20 other accusers with some in the UK.
“Spacey has now notched two victories in sex abuse charges against him including this case and the one previously dropped in Nantucket. He, however, faces an uphill battle facing other accusers and more serious criminal charges in the UK.”
Of those charges, Spacey faces four counts of sexual assault against three men and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent. Spacey pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.
Spacey also told the New York federal court that he regretted ever apologising over the accusations made by Rapp. The 63 year old actor told the court that the allegation was “not true” saying that he was never alone with actor Anthony Rapp who made the claims.
