Kevin Spacey Begins Trial on Sexual Assault Accusations

Kevin Spacey, the two-time Academy Award-winning actor, appeared briefly on Wednesday in a London courtroom for the primary day of a trial on a number of fees of sexual assault.

Mr. Spacey, 63, is dealing with 12 fees associated to incidents that the prosecution says concerned 4 males and occurred between 2001 and 2013. For a lot of that interval, he was the inventive director of the Old Vic theater in London.

In two earlier hearings over the previous yr, Mr. Spacey pleaded not responsible to all these fees.

On Wednesday morning, in a wood-paneled courtroom at Southwark Crown Court — a venue sometimes used for high-profile British legal instances — Mr. Spacey sat in a big clear field in the course of the room, sporting a darkish blue swimsuit, gentle blue shirt and pink tie, whereas the jury was sworn in.

The decide overseeing the case, Mark Wall, advised the jurors that Mr. Spacey would “be gratified that many of you know his name, or have seen his films,” however stated that may not disqualify them from serving on the case. Mr. Spacey, who’s showing beneath his full identify, Kevin Spacey Fowler, smiled on the remark.

Just after noon, the decide dismissed the jury till Friday morning, when the prosecution is predicted to ship its opening assertion. Mr. Spacey then left the courtroom with a number of advisers.

Mr. Spacey is dealing with 12 fees together with a number of counts of sexual assault and one cost of inflicting an individual to have interaction in penetrative sexual exercise with out their consent.