Kevin Spacey pleads not guilty to sexual assault charges – The Guardian

Oscar-winning US actor, 62, pleads not guilty to fives charges at Old Bailey in London
Kevin Spacey has pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual assault dating back 17 years in a hearing at the Old Bailey.
The 62-year-old actor appeared in court one of the London court on Thursday to plead not guilty to four charges of sexual assault and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.
The two-time Oscar winner had previously indicated he “strenuously denies” the allegations made by three men, now in their 30s and 40s.
During the 15-minute hearing, Mr Justice Wall set a trial of three to four weeks for the former artistic director of the Old Vic theatre in London, listed under his full name Kevin Spacey Fowler, beginning on 6 June next year.
The judge said the case would be heard at the Old Bailey unless the date could be accommodated at Southwark crown court and granted Spacey continued unconditional bail. A further hearing will be held earlier in 2023.
Spacey spoke to confirm his name and date of birth before denying all charges.
The alleged offences happened in London and Gloucestershire between 2005 and 2013, the entire duration of which he held his post at the Old Vic.
He has an address in Waterloo, London, but his home is in the US where he has family.
During an earlier hearing at Westminster magistrates court last month, Spacey’s lawyer, Patrick Gibbs QC, said his client “strenuously denies any and all criminality in this case”.
He claimed Spacey had returned to the UK “to establish his innocence” and “proceed with his life”.
The charges against him are: two counts of sexual assault on a man, who is now in his 40s, in London in March 2005; sexual assault on a man, who is now in his 30s, and causing him to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent, in London in August 2008; and sexual assault on a man, who is now in his 30s, in Gloucestershire in April 2013.
The Crown Prosecution Service authorised the charges in May but the actor could only be formally charged after arriving in the UK last month.
The court appearance came as Spacey was reportedly dropped from playing the lead in a film about Genghis Khan. The actor had been cast as a holy man in 1242: Gateway to the West. But on Thursday Variety reported that he has now been replaced.
Spacey, best known for his roles in House of Cards, The Usual Suspects and American Beauty, was artistic director at the Old Vic between 2004 and 2015.

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