The Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey was a “sexual bully” who abused the power and influence that his reputation and fame gave him to assault four men, a court has heard.
Spacey is accused of getting a sexual thrill out of his predatory and aggressive behaviour towards the men, who had the “misfortune” of attracting his attention, the court was told. He is alleged to have performed a sex act on one man while he was asleep and grabbed others with such force that it was painful or took their breath away.
Spacey has previously denied 12 charges, including sexual assault and indecent assault, against four men in their 20s and 30s, between 2001 and 2013. Wearing a grey suit and yellow tie, the 63-year-old stood in the dock at Southwark crown court in London as the prosecution opened its case.
The prosecutor Christine Agnew KC told the jury they might feel “starstruck or overwhelmed” to try Spacey, who she described as “an extremely famous actor who has won a number of awards”.
She added: “He is also, the prosecution allege, a man who sexually assaults other men. A man who does not respect personal boundaries or space, a man who, it would seem, delights in making others feel powerless and uncomfortable – a sexual bully. His preferred method of assault is, it appears, to grab aggressively other men in the crotch. On one occasion things went further than that.”
She said the alleged offences took place when Spacey was living and working in the UK. Spacey worked at the Old Vic theatre from 2001 and was artistic director from 2003 to 2015. She said none of the men wanted to be touched by Spacey “but he doesn’t seem to have cared very much for their feelings – he did what he wanted to do – for his own personal sexual gratification”.
Spacey, who is on unconditional bail, smiled as he arrived at court in a taxi on Friday, the second day of his month-long trial, before entering the dock at 10.30am.
Patrick Gibbs KC, defending Spacey, suggested to the jurors that the complainants were motivated by his client’s fame and fortune, saying: “Mr Spacey is rich and influential, and the flipside of that is what did they want from his wealth and from his influence, and what do they still want?”
Agnew alleged it was Spacey who had exploited his position. She said: “The prosecution suggest that Mr Spacey Fowler abused the power and influence that his reputation and fame afforded him; taking advantage of his popularity and prominence, his illustriousness and influence. Taking what and who he wanted when he wanted.”
Agnew told the court that the seven offences against the first complainant – three of indecent assault, three of sexual assault and one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent – allegedly took place in the early 2000s. She suggested that Spacey was banking on the fact that the man would not go to the police, reminding the jurors that the alleged incidents took place 20 years before the #MeToo movement.
Spacey is accused of assaulting the man, who worked for him, by groping his genitals and smacking his bottom. On one occasion, Spacey is alleged to have grabbed the man’s penis with such aggression that it took the complainant’s “breath away”. The man, who was driving, almost came off the road and told Spacey that it was painful and he must never do it again. But Spacey “laughed and commented that his getting angry simply turned him on”, the prosecutor said.
In a police interview, Spacey said he was baffled by the man’s claims and deeply hurt if he was “reimagining their time together”.
Spacey is accused of two counts of sexual assault against a second complainant at a showbusiness event in London in 2005. The man said Spacey made a remark about the size of his penis before touching his leg, the court heard.
Later, Spacey allegedly grabbed the man’s penis with “such force it was painful”. The man pushed Spacey away, telling him, “no, I’m not like that”, but the actor “simply laughed”, the prosecutor said.
Spacey told police he had no recollection of meeting the man, who he claimed was motivated by financial compensation.
Spacey is accused of one count of sexual assault and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent against an aspiring actor who was asleep at the House of Cards star’s flat in Waterloo, south London, in 2008.
The court heard the man had been invited to Spacey’s home after writing to him for acting advice and the pair smoked cannabis and drank beers. Spacey is alleged to have hugged the man before placing his head in the young actor’s crotch.
Agnew said: “[The complainant] recalls feeling vulnerable and thinking that perhaps this was just how people in the acting world acted. This was his last clear memory before he either fell asleep or passed out. He comments that it was unusual for him to sleep or ‘conk out’.
“He awoke some time later with his belt intact but his button and zip of his trousers were down. Kevin Spacey Fowler was next to him on his knees sucking his penis.”
Spacey told police he had no recollection of arranging to meet the man, taking him to his apartment or performing oral sex on someone who did not consent. He accepted that he had smoked cannabis with a great many people over the years.
The fourth alleged victim met Spacey at a pub near Oxford in March 2013. Later at a property where Spacey was staying, the actor gave what the complainant described as “an awkward man hug”. Spacey allegedly kissed the man’s neck twice during the hug while telling him “be cool, be cool”, before grabbing his crotch.
Of that allegation, Spacey said he had no recollection of kissing anyone’s neck or grabbing their crotch. He accepted that it was “entirely possible and indeed likely” that he had made a clumsy pass at some point in time at someone that he could not recall.
Agnew told the jury that Spacey suggested some of the allegations were made up while some encounters were consensual and that the men were financially motivated.
Spacey denies 12 charges, which include seven of sexual assault, three of indecent assault, one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.
The trial continues.
