CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses rape.
Kevin Spacey has been found not guilty of nine sexual assault charges during a criminal trial in London.
Spacey originally faced a total of 12 charges which took place between 2004 and 2013, including seven counts of sexual assault, three counts of indecent assault, one count of sexual activity without consent, and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent. A week before the final trial, four indecent assault charges were removed by the judge due to a legal technicality.
The 64-year-old had consistently denied all allegations against him, referring to them as “madness” and a “stab in the back.” He also claimed that the men accusing him were financially motivated.
The prosecution, which presented claims from four men in their 20s and 30s, alleged that Spacey was a “sexual bully” who uses his fame to make “others feel powerless and uncomfortable“.
Spacey’s camp told the court that his sexual encounters were consensual and while he might have made a “clumsy pass” at a man at a party, he rejected all claims that he grabbed a man’s crotch.
“I respected when they told me they are not interested, and that’s what I’ve done my whole life,” he told the court, per ABC News.
Throughout the trial, Spacey recounted anecdotes from his illustrious career and called on Elton John and his husband David Furnish as defence witnesses.
Ultimately, the jury rejected the claims by the prosecution that Spacey had aggressively grabbed three men by the crotch and that he performed a sex act on a man while he was asleep in his flat.
After just over 12 hours of deliberation, the jury came to a decision. When the “not guilty” verdict was revealed on Wednesday 26, which happens to be Spacey’s birthday, he began to cry.
Later, outside the courthouse, he said the following statement.
“I imagine that many of you can understand that there’s a lot for me to process,” Spacey said.
“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 concluded.
The allegations were first levelled against Spacey six years ago.
Help is available.
- If you require immediate assistance, please call 000.
- If you’d like to speak to someone about sexual violence, please call the 1800 Respect hotline on 1800 737 732 or chat online.
- Under 25? You can reach Kids Helpline at 1800 55 1800 or chat online.
The post Kevin Spacey Has Been Found Not Guilty Of All Nine Sexual Assault Charges By A London Jury appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
