Kevin Spacey has been cleared of sexual assault in one of many UK’s most high-profile #MeToo trials.
The 64-year-old Oscar-winning actor wept as he was discovered not responsible on Wednesday of sexually assaulting 4 males after a four-week trial at Southwark crown court docket.
Sporting a darkish swimsuit, pink shirt and burgundy pocket sq. and tie, Spacey appeared to his authorized workforce as jurors cleared him of all 9 intercourse offences towards 4 males over 9 years.
The Hollywood star had denied the fees – claiming the allegations towards him had been “insanity”, “absolute bollocks” and a “stab within the again”. He claimed the lads had been financially motivated and that one sufferer was after “cash, cash, after which cash”.
The decide, Mr Justice Mark Wall, praised the legal professionals within the case and mentioned: “The defendant could also be discharged.”
The jurors reached a verdict after 12 hours and 26 minutes of deliberating and after being given a majority path by the decide.
Spacey appeared emotional and hugged his authorized workforce after he was discharged on his birthday.
The actor, who stood trial underneath his full identify, Kevin Spacey Fowler, was discovered not responsible of 9 sexual offences towards 4 males of their 20s and 30s, between 2004 and 2013.
The prosecutor, Christine Agnew KC, accused Spacey of being a “sexual bully” who exploited his fame and energy to abuse the complainants.
Jurors rejected the prosecution’s claims that Spacey had “aggressively” grabbed three males by the crotch and had carried out a intercourse act on an aspiring actor whereas he was asleep in his flat.
Spacey advised the court docket that he had consensual sexual encounters with a driver and the aspiring actor, and that he might have made “a slipshod go” at a person at a celebration within the Cotswolds. However he rejected claims that he had grabbed a person’s crotch “like a cobra” at a West Finish theatre within the mid-2000s, telling jurors: “It by no means occurred.”
In his proof, Spacey gave jurors an perception into his relationship with well-known faces and name-dropped fellow actors together with Jack Lemmon, Val Kilmer, Richard Harris and Joan Collins.
He additionally recounted showbiz anecdotes together with shopping for Dame Judi Dench a ping-pong desk and buying “the costliest Mini Cooper ever” at a charity public sale hosted by Elton John. John and his husband David Furnish had been referred to as as defence witnesses within the trial.
Spacey had beforehand denied 12 expenses – seven sexual assaults, three indecent assaults, one depend of inflicting an individual to have interaction in sexual exercise with out consent, and one depend of inflicting an individual to have interaction in penetrative sexual exercise with out consent.
An extra cost of indecent assault was added mid-trial, taking to 13 the overall variety of alleged offences listed on the indictment.
Final Wednesday, the 4 indecent assault expenses had been struck off by the decide resulting from a “authorized technicality”.
The court docket heard that two of the complainants within the case had been pursuing Spacey within the civil courts.
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