Kevin Spacey Found Not Guilty of Sexual Assault

Kevin Spacey, the two-time Oscar-winning actor recognized for his film and TV roles together with “House of Cards,” was on Wednesday discovered not responsible by a jury in Britain of 9 counts of sexual assault.

Almost six years after allegations of inappropriate conduct started to emerge towards Mr. Spacey on each side of the Atlantic, a jury at Southwark Crown Court in London took simply over 12 hours to achieve its choice.

As the verdicts had been introduced, Mr. Spacey, 64, stood in a clear field in the midst of the courtroom, sporting a darkish blue swimsuit and looking out unemotional as he confronted the jury.

But when the ultimate “not guilty” was learn out, the actor, whose birthday falls on Wednesday, started to cry and sighed closely with reduction.

Shortly after the decision, Mr. Spacey walked out of the courthouse — shaking the fingers of a number of jurors on the best way and kissing two safety guards on the cheek — and gave a quick assertion to a throng of ready reporters.

“I imagine that many of you can understand that there’s a lot for me to process,” he stated. “I’m enormously grateful to the jury for having taken the time to examine all of the evidence.”

“I am humbled by the outcome,” he added, earlier than getting right into a taxi.

During the just about monthlong trial in London, the court docket heard from 4 males who stated that Mr. Spacey assaulted them between 2001 and 2013. For most of that point, the actor was the creative director of the Old Vic theater, a serious London playhouse.

One complainant informed the British police that Mr. Spacey touched him a number of occasions with out his consent. The complainant described incidents included as soon as in both 2004 or 2005 when he stated the actor grabbed his genitals so onerous that he virtually veered off the highway as they had been heading to Elton John’s White Tie and Tiara Ball.

During the trial, Mr. Spacey — who appeared underneath his full identify, Kevin Spacey Fowler — stated that the pair had a consensual “naughty relationship.” The actor added that he felt “crushed” by the complainant’s characterization of their encounters. Elton John, giving proof for Mr. Spacey’s protection, stated that Mr. Spacey solely attended his ball as soon as, in 2001, a number of years earlier than the complainant stated he was groped.

Another complainant stated that he wrote to Mr. Spacey hoping that the actor would mentor him, and finally went for a drink at Mr. Spacey’s London dwelling. That complainant stated that he fell asleep within the condominium, and later woke as much as uncover Mr. Spacey on his knees, performing oral intercourse on him. Mr. Spacey stated through the trial that the pair had consensual oral intercourse, then the person “hurriedly left,” as if he regretted the encounter.

On July 20, Patrick Gibbs, Mr. Spacey’s authorized consultant, claimed that three of the complainants had been mendacity and solely made their accusations within the hope of economic achieve. Mr. Spacey’s promiscuous lifestyle made him “quite an easy target” for false allegations, Mr. Gibbs added.

The trial in London was the most recent that Mr. Spacey has efficiently defended. In 2022, a federal jury in Manhattan discovered Mr. Spacey not responsible for battery after the actor Anthony Rapp filed a lawsuit accusing Mr. Spacey of climbing on prime of him and making a sexual advance in 1986, when Mr. Rapp was 14.

But what Wednesday’s verdict will imply for Mr. Spacey’s profession was not instantly clear. In June, Mr. Spacey stated in an interview with Zeit Magazin, a German journal, that he meant to return to appearing after the trial. “I know that there are people right now who are ready to hire me the moment I am cleared of these charges,” he stated.